Harry Potter and the Ascension of Ra
by Apocalypse Thou
Summary: Voldemort has been vanquished from power and Harry from Britain. Aiming to start a new life in muggle America Harry moves to what he thinks is a small quiet town to start over. His destiny has just begun.HP/LoisLane. Begins Season 4.
1. Lightning

**Disclaimer: **I own nothing of Harry Potter or any part of DC comics… Other people do…

**AN: **Due to timeline difficulties Harry was actually born in 1985 instead of 1980. Don't like it? Go to hell. As is, Batman Begins took place in early 2004, as well making Wayne Enterprises a PLC.

So far I've written 75,000 words. In all likely hood I won't post again for a little while as I'm looking for a Beta. If anyone reading this has sufficient knowledge to write about running a business (at least to the point where it sounds believable) or about Smallville, please let me know.

_Voldemort has been vanquished from power and Harry from Britain. Aiming to start a new life in muggle America Harry moves to what he thinks is a small quiet town to start over in. His destiny has just begun. Smallville Xover. HP/LL. NO SLASH._

**Chapter 1 – Lightning**

_(Saturday, September 4__th__ 2004)_

"Welcome Mr. Potter. We've missed you." Voldemort called out as he walked out in front of his army of 200 Death Eaters in the dark, ruined streets of Diagon Alley. "Like what I've done with the place?" he taunted as he waved a hand through the air pointing out the complete destruction around him. Since his return to power Voldemort had been slowly destroying the alley piece by piece. It was now in complete ruins. Only Gringotts remained standing.

Whilst it may have only been mid afternoon, London felt as though it was night. Thick dark clouds covered the sky, blocking out most of the suns light. Occasionally lightning would streak across the sky and thunder would roar. London had never seen such weather and no one, not even the magical users had an explanation for it.

A war-torn 19 year old Harry Potter stepped out in front of the Order of the Phoenix and DA members (know known as the Order of Defence) on the opposite side of the alley clad in a black muggle t-shirt and jeans. His black messy hair streaked with a touch of grey, and with a vivid red scar running from the bottom of his famous lightning bolt scar, past his eye and half way down his nose. It gave him the look of a warrior, one that Death Eaters, whilst not in the presence of their master, now feared.

The Aurors and ministry employees were cowering inside their underground fortress nearby. He stood tall and proud, his green eyes glowing with suppressed power, "It ends tonight, Tom."

Voldemort sneered at the name but was able to control himself enough not to lash out at the use of his birth name; his fathers name. "I know it does Potter. Tonight you will die and afterwards no one else will have the courage to stand up to me."

Harry laughed, although his laughter held very little trace of humour, "You still don't get it Tom, do you? These people behind me will never stop fighting you. They will never give up."

Voldemort laughed, "Then they will die beside you Potter." The Death Eater laughed loudly behind their master, doing their best not to show their fear.

Harry merely smiled and took a few steps forward, separating himself from the crowd behind him. "Then how about it, Tom? We both know the prophecy, hell, everyone here knows that only I can kill you and vice versa. You also know that your three Horcruxes has been destroyed. So let's duel, one on one."

Voldemort sneered again, "You believe you can beat me Potter?! I, who defeated Albus Dumbledore with ease, the greatest Dark Lord this world has ever seen?" The Death Eaters remained silent, waiting on the 19 year old to answer.

"Yes," Harry answered confidently. The Death Eaters roared with laughter at the mere thought of a teenager defeating their master, despite the amount of times that Harry had single handily stopped one of Voldemort's schemes. "Albus may have been wise and powerful, but he was old and his time had passed. He _knew _that he couldn't beat you. I on the other hand believe I can beat you. I _know_ that I can beat you."

Voldemort frowned at the confidence but none the less stepped away from his private army. "So be it. I, Lord Voldemort challenge Harry Potter to a duel to the Death. Any interference from either side will result in the death of the one whose side interfered." Magic swirled in the air as note of the magical binding challenge.

Harry took one step forward, ignoring the cries of protest from those behind him. Harry didn't listen. His best friends were dead, and he was going to personally kill the bastard responsible. "I, Harry Potter accept." Magic swirled from Harry and clashed with that from Voldemort's challenge. The air began to glow gold and a large dome of light shone around the separating them from those around. Voldemort drew his wand and lazily held it by his side. Harry stood still.

"Are you not going to draw your wand Potter? Have you now just realized that your death is inevitable and unavoidable?" The Death Eaters laughed again.

"No. I'm quite content as I am. Now, we bow." Harry tilted his head forward slightly, never taking his eyes off the man in front of him. He watched as Voldemort bowed mockingly, but never taking his eyes from Harry. The moment Voldemort's back straightened Harry lashed out thrusting his wandless right hand forward and throwing a burst of pure magic toward Voldemort.

Voldemort's eyes widened in disbelief at the power and the fact that no wand was used before he hastily conjured a shield. The shield cracked but was enough to defend him. Harry smiled and took two steps forward as Voldemort righted himself, "Scared yet Tom?"

Voldemort frowned, now taking his opponent seriously, "Lucky shot Potter! _Avada Kedavra!_" Harry side stepped the curse as it came rushing towards him.

"Is that all you've got Tom?" Harry taunted before throwing out his right hand again and flicking his wrist slightly. This time, instead of using pure magic as he had before, lightning exploded from his palm. Voldemort quickly cast a shield and held it against the constant stream of lightning crashing towards him.

Voldemort, having trouble maintaining his shield against the power was beginning to panic. "What magic is this Potter?"

Harry smirked, "Lightning Tom; muggle energy. I suppose I should thank you for it though. I had always wondered just _why_ the scar you gave me was shaped like a lightning bolt and it was whilst I was in _your_ captivity that the powers surfaced. You never did work out how I escaped, did you?" Harry laughed mockingly, trying to push the images of what had happened before the moment his gift emerged.

Harry remembered the day quite clearly. He had been helping to stop a raid in a small muggle town in north-east Scotland when the one and only spy in the Order turned on Harry and stunned him from behind. Harry had then spent the next 2 weeks being tortured repeatedly in one of Voldemort's cells with magically restricting bracelets on, despite the Death Eaters not knowing that Harry not longer needed a wand. They knew that Harry had a lot of luck on his side and were taking no chances.

Voldemort had stopped by more times than Harry could remember and slowly, meticulously and skilfully tortured him for hours at a time. When Voldemort wasn't there the Death Eaters were given almost free reign to do with them as they wished, as long as nothing of vital importance was damaged. At one point they had even crucified him, stating that it was a fitting end for 'the saviour.' He still had the scars from that, both physical and mental.

Madam Pomphery told him that he would have them for the rest of his life.

Once again, Voldemort had underestimated his potential as the magically restricting bracelets hadn't stopped his new power. At first the only thing that was different was a small tingling feeling he felt when his anger began to get the better of him. He had first thought the feeling was due to nerve damage. Eventually he had begun to focus on it and, over the next few days constantly – when not being tortured – concentrating on the power. It took three days before he was able to create small sparks from his fingers. It was then, two weeks later during the beginning of one of his daily torture session that Harry's power evolved. Harry had held his hand out in a feeble attempt to stop the whip that the Death Eater was using from crashing into his chest when a bolt of lightning shot from his hand and killed the Death Eater in front of him. Afterwards Harry had sat in his cell just wishing – praying that he had some way to escape when he felt power building up inside of him again. He grabbed the power and held onto it with everything he had. The next thing he saw was a huge bolt of lightning destroy the wards and ceiling above him and, in another bolt of lightning, drop him just outside of Hogwarts gates. The escape had electrocuted all 13 Death Eaters that were in the building. Voldemort had never worked out how that had happened.

Harry had escaped alive. Despite all he suffered, he still considered himself lucky.

Voldemort's eyes widened in shock and sweat dripped down his face as he struggled to hold up his constantly weakening shield. Harry looked up and saw the minister and his Aurors walking towards him in the distance. Minister Scrimgeour had been a bother since day one. When he was newly appointed he had hounded Harry trying to get him to play poster boy to the Ministry and lie about how well they were doing and how much confidence he had in them to win. Naturally, Harry had flat out refused and that was when the Minister took a page out of 'Fudge's book on Governing Morons'. He had tried to discredit Harry numerous times by calling him an up and coming Dark Lord. The prophet however had been hailing Harry as their savoir at the time so very few people took the claims seriously.

When the full nature of the prophecy finally came to Scrimgeour's attention mid way through Harry's 7th he had immediately given it to the Daily Prophet to show the war that the Ministry was losing could be won. That had caused Harry more trouble than any of the Minister's previous attempts to discredit him. Endless owls and endless howlers from citizens of the British magical world asking him why he hadn't defeated Voldemort yet and that he had better do so _now. _Every time someone died it was automatically Harry's fault because he hadn't defeated the bad man yet.

After two weeks of letters and complaints Harry no longer cared. He no longer cared about wizarding Britain or for the most part, the people in it. He placed a spell upon himself to block owl mail and continued with his training. He fought for three reason; to save his remaining friends from death and/or enslavement, to avenge his parents, Sirius and his friends that had died, and finally because it was his destiny; it was his job to defeat Voldemort.

Harry watched as the Minister drew nearer and knew that he had to end the duel _now_ before the Minister did something stupid and caused his death. He also didn't want the Minister or those who weren't loyal to him knowing his secret. Still firing lightning from his right hand he drew up his left and fired another similar stream of electricity towards Voldemort. The two waves of lightning combined and began to glow so bright that most had to shield their eyes. As the lightning struck his shield it collapsed and the powerful stream crashed into his chest.

Voldemort screamed only for a moment before he collapsed to the ground burnt, blackened and dead. Everyone around him stood in shock at how quickly the duel had been won and at the ease of it. The golden orb collapsed leaving and immaculate looking Harry staring down at the burnt body of his nemesis. His parents had now been avenged. Sirius had been avenged. Dumbledore had been avenged. Remus had been avenged. Ron and Hermione had been avenged.

"Huh…" Harry murmured to himself.

He had finally done it; finally killed the bastard that had brought so much pain and suffering to his life. But it was yet to be over.

As one, all the Death Eater's raised their wands to strike down Harry. Harry raised both hands ready to strike them down as he had their master, but to his shock and everyone's around him, they all grabbed their left arms and screamed in pain as mass amounts of electricity burst from their dark marks and consumed them. In moments all the Death Eaters bodies resembled that of their master; burnt, blackened and very much dead.

"That was interesting…" Harry mumbled to himself as he watched uncaringly.

The crowd behind Harry cheered as they watched the plague that had almost destroyed their world burn. But Harry's day was still not over yet. He sighed as he watched Minister Scrimgeour march purposefully towards him, pushing past the Order of Defence members with 30 Aurors close behind him. He knew what was going to happen. Scrimgeour saw him as a weapon, and once a weapons purpose had been complete, they are dismantled. Harry however had planned ahead and was eagerly waiting to enact it.

Harry watched as Neville Longbottom smirked behind the Ministers back. He knew what was about to happen. He and Harry had discussed it often.

"Harry James Potter, you are under arrest for the murders of Tom Riddle and his Death Eaters. As you committed these crimes in public with over one hundred witnesses you will not be granted a trial. You will come with the Aurors peacefully. Your sentence is life in Azkaban." The crowd an OoD members gasped and began protesting the decision, but Harry knew that the Minister would not give up. Harry was now a huge threat to the power base he had become quite accustomed to.

"No." Harry said quietly. Despite the quietness in his voice, what he said carried to everyone in alley. Those in the crowd that knew Harry well became silent recognizing the tone. It had been the same one he had used when speaking with the Death Eaters that had murdered Ron and Hermione. Those Death Eaters died very painfully afterwards. After only a few moments everyone in the crowd had gone silent as Harry stared directly at the Minister, his eyes glowing green once again. Neville's smirk grew.

"What?" the Minister asked in surprise, not having expected Harry to resist arrest in front of 30 Aurors. He had also anticipated Harry being greatly weakened by his duel with Voldemort had he won. Apparently, that was not the case. "You're resisting arrest?"

Harry shrugged, "I guess you call it that. What I am doing is giving you options. First option; do nothing, ignore me and get back to your lives. Second choice, you let me leave, not just here, but the country; banish me if you must. The third choice is to believe that I am resisting arrest and order your Aurors to take me in by force." Harry's quiet voice still carried easily amongst the winds. A few people in the crowd shivered. Harry took one step forward, "If you chose that option, I _will_ kill any and all Aurors that try to stop me. There are maybe 30 of you, including you Minister, but I'm confident that I could kill most of them before you kill me. So what will it be Scrimgeour?" Harry asked. He knew could kill the Aurors in seconds, not with magic, no, he was good, but not that good.

Lightning on the other hand…

Hell, he was seriously tempted to just kill them all. They were nothing to him. If he hadn't planned ahead for this moment he probably would have struck them down.

The Minister froze. That hadn't been what he had expected. He hesitated and that was enough to show Harry that he was considering the second option. Harry, whose face still remained impassive, held out both his arms to his side at a 45 degree angle from his legs curve his fingers slightly as if loosely holding a tennis ball and allowed his hands to fill with suppressed lightning. Harry managed to control it sufficiently to make it appear as though his hands were merely glowing, holding no hint to the extent of his powers. The crowd tensed.

The Minister who had quickly run a threat assessment and decided that he didn't want to die today came to a decision, "Harry James Potter, as the Minster of Magic of Great Britain and Ireland I banish you for all of time."

Harry smirked. He knew that was going to be the option Scrimgeour picked in the end and had planned for it. The Minister took a step back in surprise. He had a sudden feeling of dread, as though he had signed a contract he hadn't read. "Wrong choice." Harry whispered and Scrimgeour recoiled.

'_What have I done?' _he thought to himself. Harry, still with the suppressed lightning in his hands clapped them together and pushed outward with his magic. Thunder roared from around him. He saluted once towards Neville who saluted back. A powerful shock wave burst from Harry, knocking most to the ground. The wards above the alley visibly flared for a moment before emitting a high pitched whine, indicating a catastrophic ward failure. Free from magic restraints Harry disapparated from Diagon Alley.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Seconds later Harry was standing directly at the front doors of Gringotts Bank. He dropped to one knee, exhausted from using such a method to bring down the wards. It wasn't the best idea he'd ever had. Harry smiled; he had just ruined countless ancient wards in his exit, people would be able to do so whenever they wanted in that alley for a while. He stood up straight and put on his game face.

Harry pushed open the large doors to the bank and walked in and over to the nearest teller that he recognized and bowed slightly in respect. Whereas he had lost faith in the wizards and witches of Britain, he still held respect for the goblins. "Greetings goblin Master Breaktack."

The goblin bowed slightly as well, in a rare show of respect towards a human. "Greetings Mister Potter. May I offer you congratulations on your defeat of the Dark Lord?"

Harry smiled, not surprised that the goblins already knew. "You may. You are the first to, thank you."

Breaktack nodded, "How may Gringotts be of service to you?"

"As you will have just heard, I have been banished from Great Britain and Ireland, and so I'm leaving the country, but first I'm clearing out all of my vaults as of now." Breaktack stared in shock at the thought of the ramifications of the loss of Harry's money from the bank.

Once Harry had reached the age of 17 he had been given access to the Potter family vault, one of the 10 richest pureblood families of the time. It had also been then that Harry had been given access to the Black family vault as the sole heir after Sirius' death. That had made Harry Potter the richest client in Gringotts London, only marginally ahead of the Malfoy family.

Harry's wealth continued to rise after the death of Rodolphus and Rabastan Lestrange. The money from their vault (4th in the Gringotts rich list) had been then given to Rodolphus' wife Bellatrix. Harry, as head of the Black family had then been put in charge of that money and disowned Bellatrix on the advice of Gringotts. A similar pattern then followed. As inner circle Death Eater's died and pureblood families ended, their finances were past along to their closest relatives in the blood line. Several went to the Black's (Harry) and several went to the Malfoy family. Upon the death of Lucius and Draco in a raid 2 months ago the entire wealth of the Malfoy family was passed to Narcissa, who was born a Black. Harry took the money, disowned Narcissa, and became the richest man in the world.

This was why the Minister had made the mistake of banishing Harry from Britain. He was going to take all of his gold with him. All 65 percent of the gold in Gringotts; all 7 Billion galleons (35 Billion GBP) He almost cackled at the thought. The goblins would be pissed.

"Mister Potter…" stuttered the shocked goblin, "Surely you would know what this would do to Gringotts and the economy?"

Harry nodded, "I do Breaktack, but if I don't remove this now the Ministry will have it taken from me and I can't allow that. I know that Gringotts will lose a lot because of this, but the money is mine and you have little choice." Deciding that the carrot and stick approach would help speed this up, Harry continued, "Besides, you aren't looking at the bright side of this." Harry smiled darkly, a smile that would have even made Voldemort pause.

"Oh? And what bright side is that?" he growled.

"Well, as Voldemort has just been defeated, the wizards and witches will celebrate, and it's their governments fault that Gringotts London just lost 78 percent of their holdings. To me, that sounds like a perfect excuse for a rebellion." Harry grinned as the look on the goblins face changed from skeptical, to surprised, to one of awe and then of excitement.

"Intriguing idea Mister Potter, I must report this to Lord Ragnok immediately."

"Breaktack, I need that money transferred now. The Minister will be here soon to seize my funds."

Breaktack hesitated for a moment before nodding. Harry reached into the back pocket of the black muggle jeans he was wearing and pulled out a leather wallet. He pulled out a dozen muggle bank cards he had received for this situation a month ago and passed them towards the goblin. "Please put everything equally into that. I will need to take a few things out first though." Harry said.

Over the past year he had been slowly liquidating the contents of his vaults and now all that remained was gold and shares in muggle businesses. He'd been planning this for a while.

"Very well Mister Potter. I will need Ragnok's approval but I do no see that being a problem; as you said, we are creatures of our word and have little choice. I will have a goblin meet you momentarily to take you to your choice of vaults."

Harry nodded in acceptance and a goblin was called over. Harry followed him towards the carts and down into the underground caverns of the bank.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry emerged from the bank two hours later and smiled brightly as he met the Minister and five Aurors just outside the entrance, obviously on their way to the bank do what Harry had guessed; steal from him. Harry discreetly tucked the gold chain around his neck further into his t-shirt, hiding it from view. The Minister saw Harry and scowled at him, "Potter?" What are you doing here? I thought I told you that you were banished?!"

Harry smiled sweetly at him, inside cackling away, "Minister, I'm sorry about that. I merely had to pick up a few things from my vaults. I won't keep you." Harry smiled the Minister again and made to walk past him but the Scrimgeour stepped in his way.

"Something I can do for you Minister?" Harry asked curiously.

Scrimgeour growled at the sweet tone Harry used. "What have you done Potter?"

"Me?" Harry asked pointing at himself, a mock look of surprise on his face. "Nothing at all; just sorting out some finances before I leave."

Scrimgeour smirked, "As you are no longer a British citizen that money is now property of the Ministry of Magic."

Harry merely shrugged, "Oh well. I've never been one for money. I'll survive." said Harry, still inwardly laughing at the disappointed look on the Minister's face. "Well, I've gotta go. Have fun Minister. Viva la revolution!" Harry punched the air with his right hand and disapparated on the spot leaving a highly apprehensive Minister standing in front of Gringotts.

Rufus, shaking his head and pushing away thoughts of Harry Potter taking over the world, stepped into the bank, three of his top Aurors obediently behind him. He marched towards the nearest goblin who, coincidentally happened to be the same goblin Harry had only said goodbye to minutes before, "Goblin! Harry Potter has been banished from Britain, by law 2256-b the Ministry of Magic has legal rights to confiscate all items from his vaults in Gringotts." He slapped a piece of parchment down in front of the goblin that showed that the banishment had been legal and they had a right to what was known as the Blood Fortune.

Breaktack sneered at the Minister as was the usual custom and checked the form, "Very well Minister. How would you like to proceed?"

"I want everything Potter owns transferred to the Ministries vault immediately."

"Very well Minister Scrimgeour." said Breaktack who was currently fighting a smile. He pressed several runes on the desk in front of him that completed the transaction as had been planned by Harry. "The funds have been successfully transferred."

Scrimgeour smiled, with the amount of money he had just taken from Potter he would be forever known as the greatest Minister Britain had ever seen. He smiled at the goblin, the thought of so much money making the smile difficult to clear, even if he was taking to some lowlife creature. "Good, now tell me how much was just transferred."

Breaktack sneered at him again for ordering him around. Inside though he was looking forward to what was about to happen, "The money was transferred from vault 47. The total amount was," Breaktack paused briefly. Scrimgeour never saw all the goblins in the bank looking at him. "Two sickles and a note, Minister."

Scrimgeour froze. _'2 sickles?! That has to be wrong! He had over 7 billion galleons in there! I know he did!' _

"Check again goblin! That was obviously a mistake!"

"No mistake Minister. Harry Potter cleared out all of his vaults only moments ago."

Scrimgeour froze again, one of the last things Potter had said echoing in his head.

'_Have fun Minister.'_

Potter had known. Potter had known that he was going to come for his gold. Potter had known that he was going to be attacked legally after his defeat of Voldemort, after all, the Ministry had never made it a secret that they thought he was a threat. He went red in rage, "Impossible!" he roared. "Potter can't do that! That's my money!"

"I am afraid Minister that that is not true. After all, Ministry law dictates that until a representative from the Ministry comes to show that they may legally acquire the money, that the money is still the property of the original client, not the government. Mister Potter got here before you and therefore you get what he left you."

Scrimgeour screamed again but before he could say anything Breaktack handed him a note. "This was the note Mister Potter told us to leave you."

Scrimgeour snatched the note from the goblins hand and unfolded it.

_Two sickles to pay the Ferryman Minister Scrimgeour._

_The richest man in the world,_

_Harry James Potter_

Scrimgeour screamed again before turning on his heel and stomping out from the bank cursing the day Potter was born.


	2. Escape

**AN:** _Please review people. My fragile little ego needs it. Now, hopefully I'm not making Harry __**too**__ powerful. I hate weak Harry stories and I'm not overly fond of god!Harry stories, so I've tried to find a middle ground that has no doubt reached nearer 'god' than 'wimp'. Keep in mind, that whilst he is powerful, he's in the same town as Clark, and well, that boy's Superman…_

_The next chapter contains some minor stuff about businesses and I have __**NO **__idea how to write that so people don't laugh. Due to that the next chapter will no doubt take a while to appear (and yes, I said that about this chapter but I was wrong). So, anyone wanting to Beta this, ASK!_

_Enjoy and feel free to ask questions._

**Chapter 2 - Escape**

As the Minister was entering Gringotts Harry apparated back to the scorch mark in Devon that was the result of his earlier escape. He chuckled at the thought of the Minister's reaction. His escape plan had gone off with a hitch and with the finesse that his usual schemes did; mild destruction, near magical exhaustion, anger from the opposition and new enemies.

Well, perhaps saying it went off without a hitch was a bit much, but in the end it worked out well enough.

Harry had been planning to leave the UK from the moment he turned 17. He had no want or need to stay in the country that had screwed him over time after time. The fact that all his close friends had died during the war meant that he had no incentive to stay or to even a real need to say goodbye to anyone. There would be a few people who he'd miss but he knew he'd see them again in a few years or so.

Taking one last look around him Harry brought up the lightning energy he could control and thought of the destination he wanted to go to. Lightning travel, whilst similar to apparition was quite different. The three D's of apparition, Destination, Determination and Deliberation still applied but that was it. Unlike apparition there was no limit on how far could travel nor did it drain him of power. Whereas only the most powerful and skilled wizard was able to apparate from a distance similar to that from Hogsmeade in Scotland to London England, Harry could lightning travel, or Bolt as he had taken to calling it, to the other side of the world and then back without trouble. Without actually using any magic.

Also, unlike apparition, Harry could 'Bolt' through wards, although it had the nasty side-effect of overloading the magic that sustained them and destroying them. Then there was the destructive side. Wherever Harry 'bolted' to he had to be careful. Where ever he landed received the same result as if it had been struck by lightning. It was also quite unsubtle as well as wherever he left from received a roar of thunder followed by a lightning bolt and wherever he turned up received the same.

Harry would have used this method to escape Diagon Alley, but he didn't want the extra global attention he would receive if his being able to do so emerged. Announcing to the magically world that wards were meaningless to him would not be good.

It had only been 4 days prior that he had been able to learn full conscious control of his powers, or at least the travel and offensive capabilities, even if he had yet to learn the extent of what he could do. If he hadn't, the duel with Voldemort would most likely have been different; where as Harry was a near equal to Voldemort in magical power, Voldemort had 50 years more magical experience than he did. Despite four years of training Harry knew that he most likely couldn't have taken Voldemort in an all out arts may corrupt the mind of the caster, but there _is_ a reason people learn them.

Upon achieving control of his new method of travel Harry had tried several trips to several countries to test its limitations. One of which was where he was going now.

With a bang and flash Harry disappeared from Britain to the nearest lightning rod to his destination. The next thing Harry felt was the sensation of falling. Knowing what was happening Harry held out both his hands and willed himself to levitate. He looked up at the building he had just 'bolted' to and smiled at what he saw; The Empire State building.

One of the unique abilities with lightning travel was that if he didn't set a specific location when he travelled, his ability automatically picked the nearest lightning rod in the location and dropped him there. During his first attempts at travelling he had picked Paris for the location and was quite surprised to find himself falling from the tip of the Eiffel Tower. Without his quick reactions he would have died that day.

With a quick look around him at the city below, he apparated himself to the apparition point inside the American Magical Government below him. Harry stepped off the designated zone and walked towards the reception area. As he walked into the main part of the building he pulled out a customised black fingerless glove and pulled it onto his left hand. The glove protected the back of hand whilst leaving his palm exposed.

He looked around in interest. Unlike the British Ministry that had avoided modern ideas like the plague, the American's had followed closely behind their muggle counterparts. Harry walked towards the reception, idly noticing that she was using a computer in a warded zone, something that was deemed impossible in Britain. The receptionist looked up and him and smiled.

"Good afternoon, how can I help?"

"Hi. I'm looking to enquire about gaining citizenship, could you point me in the right direction please?" Harry asked politely.

"Of course. Take the elevator behind you to floor -16 and someone should be able to help you there." she said with a smile

"I don't have to make an appointment or anything?" Harry asked, surprised.

"No. That department is one of the quieter ones in the magical government." She smiled at him again and reached under the desk. Sensing potential danger Harry created a small build-up of electricity in his left palm ready to attack at a moments notice. Seconds later she placed a small security badge on the counter in front of her and Harry allowed himself to relax. He was being stupid; nobody knew who he was here and the people that knew him didn't know he was here.

"You'll need to wear this whilst in the building." she explained. "It will restrict your access to certain areas and your location will be monitored at all times." Harry nodded in acceptance, quite impressed with how secure the building seemed, after all, he and four other people had broken in the most secure location in the British Ministry at the age of 15 without any trouble what-so-ever. He slipped the card that had 'Visitor' written in back on the front round his neck.

Harry nodded and smiled, "Thank you."

Harry turned around and walked towards the silver elevator doors behind him. The door was already open so Harry walked in and looked at the keypad on the wall. He was currently on floor 0 and all the floors went down from there until floor -34 was reached. Pushing -16 Harry leant back against the wall and waited. He had been in this city once after coming into his inheritance, but that had purely been a medical trip. He had been impressed and decided he wanted to come back when he could.

His plans were simple enough in theory. First, he wanted away from the magical world. He had been screwed over too frequently to want any part of it; hence converting all of his money into what was now around 60 billion dollars.

He wanted to go to school; a normal school, but he had no current muggle education past what he had at 11. That was obviously going to be a problem. He shrugged off the thought; he would work something out. He always did.

The lift chimed as he reached his destination. He stepped out of the lift and looked around in interest. Further proof that the American's had updated alongside muggles was that the office floor looked almost entirely muggle. He walked down the corridor, carefully examining everything for signs of threats, a necessary side effect of fighting a war.

After a few minutes he came across a door marked simply, '_Head of the Department of Citizenship and Relocation – Arthur Jones_.' "Convenient," Harry mused and knocked on the door and waited.

"Come in." he heard a friendly voice call from within. Harry opened the door and walked through calmly, still searching for threats. A quick look around the office once again showed that it was of muggle design. Only several things in the room pointed out that a wizard was using it. The moving photographs of what Harry assumed was the man's family being the first thing he saw, and the 'window' that clearly showed New York below them; clearly an illusion as they were very much underground.

The man looked up from his desk and stood up and stretched out his hand towards Harry. He had short brown hair and looked to be in his 60's although in the magic world it was difficult to tell. He wore a smart suit that would have easily blended into the muggle world. "Arthur Jones," he said and held out his hand for Harry to shake.

Harry reached forward and shook his hand, "Harry." he said in the way of introduction.

The man just smiled, "And what can I do for you Harry?"

"I'm looking to apply for American Citizenship." he said bluntly.

Arthur chuckled, "I assumed as much." He indicated towards the chair on the other side of his desk. "Please sit Harry." Harry nodded in thanks and sat down in the comfortable chair opposite Arthur. Arthur took a small note pad out of a draw picked up a pen.

"Thank you Mister Jones." said Harry politely.

Arthur chuckled, "If I'm on first name basis with you, just Arthur please, Harry."

Harry smiled back in thanks.

Harry then looked into the man's grey eyes and felt a small mental touch of legilimancy. Harry was about to violently push back with his mind before stopping. The touch was clearly that of a professional, close to master level and it wasn't even deep enough to read memories. It would merely help clarify if he was telling the truth or not. Harry allowed it and the man nodded in thanks.

"I apologise. Usually I ask for permission before trying that, but very few are trained. I assure you I had no intention of violating your privacy, merely to sense whether or not you would tell me the truth. After all, if we're going to be allowing someone new to gain residence in the country, we need to know if they're a threat."

"It's understandable. I felt your intentions behind the probe and allowed it. I understand the need to be cautious." Arthur nodded again.

"So Harry, I take it from your accent that you're British?"

Harry was about answered 'yes' immediately, but paused and thought about it. Did he count as British now that he had been banished from the country? Mentally shaking his head of the thoughts he answer, "I was born in Britain. Not sure if I count as British anymore though."

"Oh?" Arthur asked, now curious about the man in front of him, "And why would you be unsure?"

"I was banished by the current Minister about," Harry checked his watched. "Two and a half hours ago."

Arthur's eyebrows rose, "Really? That very rarely happens. May I ask what caused him to banish you?"

"I was a threat to his power. Magically I'm powerful, politically I'm strong and financially, well, he couldn't compete."

"He banished you because of that?" Arthur asked and Harry knew he was highly confused even without using legilimancy.

Harry hesitated slightly. Harry had just been the cause of death for around 400 people in Britain. "I was also accused of the deaths of around 400 people."

Arthur gulped audibly and looked toward Harry hesitantly, "_Were_ you responsible?"

Harry paused again thinking over his answer, "I suppose I could be considered so, but there is a perfectly good explanation behind it." Arthur looked around his office in fear and with a short look into his mind with legilimancy Harry knew that the guy was looking for an exit. Harry mentally smacked himself. Claiming that he had a good reason for killing 400 people was not the way to inspire confidence in someone; after all, Voldemort claimed he had a good reason for murdering 'mudbloods.'

"Really, I did. Tell me, what do you know about the current state of affairs in the UK?"

Arthur paused his attempt to find an escape route at the strange question. He looked thoughtful for a moment before answering, "That there is currently a Dark Lord who attempted to seize power a number of years ago and was stopped by an infant, trying to seize power again. Our contact in the British Ministry of Magic assures us that they are handling it and are in no need of international help."

Harry rolled his eyes. That meant either two things, one, Scrimgeour had decided that he didn't want foreign nations having to help Britain out of a tough situation, or that the contact in the Ministry was a Death Eater. Harry suspected the latter. "You may want to have you government check that your contact isn't dead then."

"Why?" he asked in surprise.

"The Dark Lord, who had killed thousands of people by the way, died earlier today. All those who he had marked died alongside him. My guess is your contact was a Death Eater and underplayed the situation to keep the involvement of your government to a minimum."

"The Dark Lord was that bad?"

Harry nodded, "He wasn't a serial killer that killed a few people and he was, in every sense of the word a Dark Lord. He is however, no longer a problem."

"Someone killed him then?"

"Harry Potter killed him about 3 hours ago. All of his followers died along side him due to the magical mark they carried on their left forearms."

Arthur cocked his head to the side, "The same kid that killed him first time?" Harry nodded. "So why are _you_ being blamed for it?"

Harry grinned and held out his hand again, "Harry Potter, pleased to meet you."

Arthur, who had just managed to put all the pieces together, shook Harry's hand again in a slight daze. "So let me get this straight, The British Dark Lord was far worse than what we've been told, our contact in your Ministry was probably working with the terrorist group, you just killed him, and as your Minister deemed you as a threat, he banished you. Right?"

"Right," Harry agreed. "That sums it up nicely."

"So you are British then, technically." Arthur said, typing a few things onto the computer in front of him.

"Does that matter?" Harry asked confused.

Arthur waved off his concern, "Not at all. We usually get several British citizens seeking citizenship in America a year, so you are not unusual in this regard."

Arthur nodded and made a few notes on the notepad in front of him. "So you're now looking to stay in America?" Harry nodded and Arthur made more notes. "Why is it that you want to live over here?"

"A few reasons I suppose. I came over here on an International Portkey a few years back and stayed for a week in the muggle part of the city. I had a good time."

Arthur interrupted, "Why were you over here?"

"Have you heard of Healer Voyez?"

"The name sounds familiar, but I can't think of why."

Harry explained, "He's one of the best healers in the world. Well, a friend of mine saw an article in one of the healer magazines at Saint Mungos, our resident magical Hospital. It said that Healer Voyez, from the New York Magical Hospital had created a revolutionary eye treatment for those who needed glasses. It was called the Omni-lense."

"Ah," said Arthur in recognition. "I remember reading something about that. It was something similar to that of contact-lenses?"

"Right," Harry agreed. "It was, in essence a scaled down version of Omnioculars. Quite genius really. Each lens has all of the same spells and enchantments added to it that the omnioculars have. One goes in each eye and with a few more spells fixes problems with your eyes, my short-sightedness for example."

"Remarkable."

"Indeed. My friend and I thought that a pair of them would do me a lot of good, so we travelled over here and met with Voyez. He told me that, for a large price numerous other spells could be added. I was quite lucky I had come into my inheritance, as a set cost me $90,000."

"$90,000?!" he asked in shock. "Why priced so high?"

"Each lens has to be done individually, and they each hold 100 of spells as standard. He told me that to make one lens takes around 46 hours to perfect. And then I requested that he put on a whole category of other spells, anything that would help me survive. The standard for a pair was only 40,000 galleons. You can see how many extra spells I had him add, right?"

Still in a slight daze Arthur could only nod. "The lenses have been the best thing that I've ever bought though. Well worth the money."

Arthur ran a hand through his slightly greying hair, "Whilst fascinating, that doesn't explain why you wish to live here."

"No, it doesn't. Well, I saw how advanced the magical world is here and couldn't help be impressed, especially as I was planning on leaving that world behind as soon as I could. Honestly, I don't really know why I wanted to come here." Harry shrugged, "I just did."

Arthur chuckled and made a few more notes and Harry continued, "I wanted away from Britain and away from the magical world. Plans further than that were pretty vague."

"Well," said Arthur looking up from his notes, "I don't see there being any problems with getting you citizenship. As you might know we receive, on average, four magical citizens from Britain each year looking to escape the country. The process is far easier to do via the magical world rather than the muggle world; it can sometimes take years with them. All we really do is search for threats, and whilst you admit to being powerful, and having killed over 400 people, however strange this may sound, I don't feel that you'd be a threat to the country."

"Thank you." said Harry, quite shocked at how quickly he had been accepted.

"Having everything legalised in both worlds will be quite expensive for you, but as you spent $90,000 on a pair of contact lenses, I'm sure that won't be a problem."

Harry nodded, "That won't be a problem."

Arthur nodded, "Good, good, now, as it's also part of what I do, do you have anywhere in preference that you want to live?"

"Someplace… quiet, completely away from the magical world. I don't want to be able to see a wizard unless I go looking for them."

"Quite understandable given your situation I suppose." said Arthur whilst typing something into the computer in front of him.

"Also somewhere that was within a reasonable Apparating distance to a large city would preferable." Arthur pressed a few more keys in front of him and frowned.

"Something wrong?" Harry asked.

"Not sure," he said looking at Harry. "I have one perfect match here that from what you just said a moment ago is perfect."

"But…"

"But the town in question has 2 red flags against it."

"Red flags?" Harry asked, confused.

"Oh, sorry." he apologised. "A red flag is a warning. This town has two."

"Tell me about the town."

"Well, it's in Kansas which is right in the middle of the country. It is a smallish town with a population of around 45,000. It has a strong agricultural presence as well. One of America's largest cities, Metropolis, is around an hours drive as well, so there should be no problems Apparating there. There are also several large neighbouring cities such as Gotham City and Star City. Smallville and Metropolis have no magical population at all. There may be one or two wizards, but there are no magical businesses or communities there what-so-ever. Star City however holds an extensive magical population, second only to New York."

Harry nodded. So far it sounded exactly what he was looking for - prefect even. He waited for the other shoe to drop. "And the two red flags?"

"Yes, have you by chance ever heard of a town called Smallville?" he asked.

Harry thought hard. The name sounded vaguely familiar, something from his early childhood, but he couldn't quite think why. He shook his head and Arthur continued, "A number of years ago there was a large meteor shower that did considerable damage to the town. The Secretary of Magic arranged for a specialist team to investigate, just in case there had been some magical interference."

"When the team arrived it was noticed quickly that inside the meteors was a strange green rock. They performed a number of magical tests and it seemed harmless. They thought nothing of it and left. After a few years and several strange occurrences it was noticed that a few people began showing signs of strange abilities. Not quite magic, but, what would be considered in comic books, mutant powers."

"Upon further investigation it was discovered that the green rocks inside the meteors were the cause of the abilities. They gave off a strange radiation that affected the non-magics whilst causing no damage to magic users."

Harry's eyes widened as he listened. "From that point the government released a statement to the magical world strongly recommending that we avoid the town in case the non-magics investigated and discovered magic."

Harry nodded in agreement. "From then on the town was red flagged and the few members of the population that had magic left. Now, the other red flag is a non-magic family."

Harry arched an eyebrow, "A _muggle_ family?"

"Hmmm." Arthur agreed. "The family are the Luthor's. They own a large part of corporate America and have an extensive amount of money. Lionel Luthor, the senior Luthor, has set up his headquarters in Metropolis. Over the last few years he and his son Lex have been strongly investigating the strange occurrences in Smallville. They have been deemed by the Magic government to be a credible threat to the Statute of Secrecy of our world." He paused for a second, "Oh, and I would caution you against using the word 'muggle' in this country. It's seen as a derogatory word."

Harry nodded, "I have nothing against muggles… er, non-magics, but I find it hard to believe that they could be considered a real threat."

"Understandable but the Luthor's are powerful people and the government considers them a threat. As of now though, they are leaving them alone. Although from what I've heard, the senior Luthor is currently in jail."

Harry nodded, accepting the rather vague answer. He thought about the town. Did he want to live there? A place where people had powers and abilities, but had no magical background or future, a place where rare shows of unexplained power would be considered quite normal? Well, apart from the over curious muggles, everything sounded perfect.

It was also in the middle of the country and that meant he could apparate easily enough to any corner of the country. "It sounds good." He said after a few minutes silence.

Arthur raised his eyebrows in surprise, "It does?"

Harry chuckled at his look, "Yeah. It's a good location, right in the middle of country, the town is small with a large city a few hours away, and any small signs of magic used there will just be seen as another strange thing in the town, which is good, because I really didn't want to give up using magic. Add the fact that there is no magical community and it's almost perfect."

"Are you sure?" he asked hesitantly.

"I am. I want someplace quiet, but I think a completely quiet life would probably kill me. Smallville sounds like my sort of place."

"Very well then. Now, what do you plan on doing there if you don't mind my asking?"

Harry sighed, that was where his problem lay, "I'm not sure. What I would like to do would be to go to school, just a normal school for a normal year before looking at something more."

"Well, you are a year older than most people in their senior year at high school, but attending a school would be no problem."

"Other than lacking the necessary education you mean?"

Arthur smiled, "That, Harry, won't be a problem."

"Um, why not? I would consider gaining several years of education in around a month would be a problem."

"Not for us magic folk Harry. What you'll need to do is head on down to floor -24 and speak to Mellissa West in the Department of Education. She deals with those wishing to gain a muggle education."

"And how does that work?" Harry asked curiously, having no idea where the cheerful man was going with this.

"Have you ever heard of Pensieve Learning?"

Harry shook his head, "I've heard of pensieve's, I have a pensieve, but I don't understand how one of them could help me."

"Simple. There is a process where we can remove memories, store them in a special pensieve that replicates them. They are then inserted into your mind and you have the memory of having done or having the knowledge of what was placed in your head."

Harry paused, not liking the sound of that idea. Memories of Ginny being controlled by a memory rose to the front of his mind. "Is that wise?" Harry asked hesitantly.

"Very much so." he said. The confidence in his voice was strangely reassuring to Harry. "Personally I haven't used it, but friends of mine have; those who have a lot of money and a strong mind though. They've said that the only thing passed on were the specifics that they asked for. No personal thoughts or feelings, merely the education."

"And there's no chance the person could end up being controlled by the memories?"

"Controlled?"

"A friend of mine, when she was 11 was controlled and possessed by the memory of 16 year old who had placed a part of himself in a diary. In the end she was nearly responsible for the deaths of half a dozen students and it attempted to steal her life force. Is there any chance of that happening?"

"Oh no Harry, none at all. It is perfectly safe and has been for almost 15 years."

Harry nodded, sensing that Arthur wasn't lying to him. The thought of placing another person's memories in his head made him feel a bit ill, but it would allow him to do what he wanted. "I'll do it."

Arthur smiled again, "Very good. So you wish to be relocated to Smallville, Kansas, and enrol at," he typed a few things into the keyboard in front of him. "Smallville High, for one year. Correct?"

Harry nodded. "Correct."

"And what of housing?"

"Something smallish I think. A small two bedroom house or flat would be perfect for just now." Arthur wrote that down on his note book.

"Very well Harry. I'll have a look in the local real estate listings and see what I can find for you. Now, I think, for the time being, that's all you need to do. It will take me around a month I believe to complete your citizenship and relocation. As I currently have no way of contacting you, I would ask that you come back here in 30 days."

"Of course." Harry agreed instantly having no desire to run out on the man after he had been so helpful. "How much is this going to cost by the way?"

"We'll arrange that once everything is sorted Harry." Arthur answered with a smile.

Harry nodded, guessing that meant 'expensive'. "If everything is sorted within the month and there are no holes in the transfer I'll pay you double."

Arthur's eyes widened in shock for a moment before settling on determined, "I shall do my best Harry."

"Thank you." Harry was about to leave when an idea struck him." Do you think that when you transfer all of my details across that you could change my last name?"

"That shouldn't be too difficult. Can I ask why?"

"When I left Britain I sort of went out with a bang." He grinned at Arthur, "In my haste to leave I may have utterly destroyed several 700 year old wards, transferred 75 percent of the contents of the Gringotts London Vaults into multiple muggle accounts and I _may_ have started a goblin rebellion."

Harry continued to smile as Arthur's face froze in shock. Seeing that Arthur had lost the ability to speak Harry continued, "Because of that I have very little doubt that the British Ministry have declared me as a Dark Lord. Hopefully they'll be too busy due to the fact that, single handed, I dropped the British magical world in financial ruin to try and find and extract me, but eventually people will find me. Changing my last name will make it all the more difficult for them."

After Harry had finished speaking Arthur shook his head and seemed to manage to clear his head, "I think you may have made a few enemies in your departure." Harry snorted in agreement and amusement. "Well, changing your surname will be simple. Which name will you want instead?"

"Go with 'Evans'. That was my mother's maiden name." Arthur jotted the name down on his notepad.

"Very well Harry, I'll get to work on this as soon as I can."

Harry stood up, "Then I won't keep you Arthur."

"Thank you Harry. Are you going to look into the Department of Education now?"

Harry checked his watch and saw that it was only 3pm. "I think I'll go just now."

Arthur nodded, "I'll give Mellissa a call and tell her to expect you."

"Thank you Arthur and thank you for all the help you've given me today. I appreciate it." Harry offered his hand to Arthur and he shook it.

"Think nothing of it Harry. This department is far too quiet. Something like this is what I look forward to."

Harry nodded again and opened the office door. "I'll see you in a month then." he said with a smile.

"A month." he agreed and Harry stepped out the office and closed the door.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Around 10 minutes later Harry found himself outside a door marked, _'Head of the Department of Education – Mellissa West.' _He knocked on the door and was instantly invited in. He opened the door and peered in, again looking for threats as someone now expected him to be here.

Upon opening the door he only saw one person and allowed his guard to drop slightly. The office was very similar to that of Arthur's, with pale walls and a black carpet. The most obvious difference was the window illusion that, instead of having the New York City skyline had a peaceful looking river scene.

Harry looked over at the woman behind the desk. She had long light brown curly hair and looked no older than 25. "Mister Potter?"

He nodded and snuck a quick look at her left hand in order to greet her correctly. Seeing no ring he responded in kind, "Miss West I presume?"

She caught the look and smiled in amusement up at Harry, "I am. Interested?" she said, referring to his glance at her ring finger.

Harry smiled back, instantly liking the woman, "Not just now."

She laughed. "Please sit Mister Potter." she said, indicating to the seat in front of her desk, just as Arthur had done before.

"It's just Harry, Miss West." he said politely as he sat down.

"Then I'm Mellissa. Now, how can I help?"

"I'm looking to enrol in a non-magical school for a year but I have no muggle education past what I had when I was 10. Arthur Jones mentioned something about acquiring the memories needed to attempt school could be passed on via pensieve learning."

"Ah, of course." Mellissa got up and walked over to a filing cabinet beside her desk Harry. He watched as she pulled out a blue folder from the bottom draw and placed it on the desk. "These," she said, indicating to the folder in front of him. "Are lists of what we can offer in the ways of skills and knowledge."

"Now, before we discuss this I must warn you that this procedure is quite expensive and if you don't have a strong enough grasp of occlumency, the procedure will most likely fail." she told him seriously.

Harry responded in kind, "Money will be of no problem to me, and I assure you, my occlumency skills are amongst the best."

"Oh?" she asked curiously.

"I was personally trained by Albus Dumbledore right until the moment of his death 3 months ago. By the time he died we were merely perfecting my technique. As of now I am a master occlumens."

"A master occlumens at 19?" she asked, impressed.

Harry nodded, "It was necessary."

"Very well, now," she opened the blue folder and pushed the contents towards him. "You may select anything on the lists, but keep in mind, the more you chose the more difficult it will be to assimilate the new knowledge."

Harry spent 10 minutes carefully reading through the lists of hundreds of skills that would be available to him. He couldn't help but be reminded of something from a muggle film Hermione had him watch when the extent of his wandless magic emerged called 'The Matrix' where they were able to download knowledge from a computer directly to the characters brain. Hermione had felt that Harry watching movies where people could perform similar 'wandless' feats would be educational for him.

He had then spent the next two weeks watching film after film; all for the purpose of training.

The list had skills on the list ranged from several different styles of martial arts to hobbies such as playing instruments. There were full medical degrees that would take years to gain naturally. There was a significant amount of knowledge that rivalled university degrees. There were also quite a few knowledge implants that made him blush.

"Where does all this knowledge come from?" Harry asked curiously, looking up from the folder.

"Anyone who wishes to make a bit of money. Most often those born into a magical family but not possessing any magic themselves participate in order to make a living in our world. They are paid quite well for it."

Harry just nodded, not knowing what to say to that.

After several more minutes and one re reading later Harry had mentally picked which skills he would need. "I think that all I need would be the complete high school education, the university Bachelors degree in Business Management as well as driving skills in both car and motorcycle." said Harry. He already had rudimentary skills on how to drive a motorbike as he had insisted learning once the knowledge that he had inherited Sirius' flying motorbike. He had, just like flying, been a natural, but a better grasp of skills involved would be useful.

Mellissa made a note of his selections. "Very well. So you want the full high school education, even though you'll be doing the last year?"

"Yeah. I'm not doing it so much for the education, but to just have a normal year like a normal teenagers. I just want to make a few friends and work out what I want to do after I leave. No sense on struggling through the education when I don't really need it."

"And the Bachelors degree?"

"Just something I've got in the back of my head for just now." Harry answered. He currently doing what he was best at and making big decisions without much thought before hand. He had a lot of money and it would be a waste to just leave it sitting in a bank.

She nodded in acceptance and typed a few details into the computer in front of her. Harry's curiosity of electrical items in a warded zone finally won over, "Mellissa, how is it that electronics work here? I thought that with wards about they couldn't function properly."

Mellissa looked at Harry oddly for a moment before her eyes widened in realisation, "Ah, I forgot for a moment there that you were British."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "And that would matter because?"

"Because the British and European magical governments refused the contract that Magitek passed to them a few years ago."

"Magitek?" Harry asked in confusion, having never heard of the company before, or what he assumed was a company.

"Yes, Magitek. It was founded 6 years ago and is the leading distributor in electrical items that work around magic. From what I know they buy electrical items from non-magical stores and using specific patented charms, ward them against magical interference. Most magical building in America now use computers and the like, but Europe seems dead set against ignoring them."

"So it is possible to use magical around electronics then?" Mellissa nodded. "Is there anyway of allowing normal electronics to work around wards?"

"There are a few specific wards that Magitek can place around an area that allows the items that haven't been warded to function for a brief period of time. It's not the best solution, but the best that we have just now."

"And what of using magic around non-warded items? Wouldn't they be disrupted?"

"They wouldn't as Magitek thought of that already." Mellissa said whilst showing Harry two small metal bands around each wrist. "These bracelets, and don't ask me how they work, absorb excess magic from the wearer." Seeing Harry's startled and worried look she answered is unasked question, "They don't steal magic from you. From what research has been done it's said that when a spell is cast the caster releases a pulse of magic that corresponds to the power the spell used. That pulse of magic is what causes the electrical interference. The bracelets absorb that magic."

Harry still looked skeptical. "Is there any chance that they've been invented by an evil genius and he'll be able to use them to take control of everyone wearing them?"

Mellissa chocked out a laugh, "No Harry. People were sceptical of them to begin with but extensive studies have proven that they aren't harmful."

Harry nodded feeling slightly better. His minor legilimancy touch told him that she wasn't lying, well, she didn't think she was. "Is all this technology expensive?"

Mellissa shrugged, "Sort of. The major companies are all fully outfitted with modern technology. Magitek have several stores where they sell mid-level items at prices that are around double the ones in the non-magical world. If you have enough money though you have them specially ward items you want. Most of the time it's not worth it as you have to give them money to buy the item you want, collect it and then have them protect it. That's usually four or five more times expensive."

Harry nodded; it made sense to charge a lot for specialty items. "What of the bracelets?"

"The government pays for them and a pair is given to each magical person in the country. If you're citizenship is granted you'll be given a pair." She paused for a second, "It's also a good way to tell of other wizards in the area if you're in the non-magical world."

"So they're definitely _not_ evil then?" he asked one more time.

She laughed again and stood up, "No Harry, not evil. Now, how about we get you those new memories?"


	3. Arrangements

**AN: **_Whilst I'm a man of my word, I'm also highly impatient and not posting more or, god forbid, waiting a full week to post another chapter just wasn't happening. So, read, review, criticize and ask questions!_

_Should you believe I've stolen something from one of your stories please contact me and should I agree I'll either change it (should you ask __**nicely**__) or give you a shout-out on the next chapter._

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 3 - Arrangements**

The following month had been hellish busy, but one of the most interesting of his life. After receiving the pensieve memories he had requested he was given the address of a non-magic hotel nearby where he waited for his epic headache to subside.

He spent a good while of the week with that headache and several times he thought that it might kill him. He spend the time he wasn't lying on his bed clutching his head mediating and working his way through the memories he had absorbed. Luckily they were structured so he could work through them with some ease but he found there to be far too much to just sit and work through. In his mind the memories sat there blurred as though he had learned what they held long ago but had forgotten them.

Deciding that he only needed a refresher course he had stopped by a store nearby and bought several revision books. After flicking through them for a week he felt that he now knew enough of his high school education to pass his exams now, but the extensive knowledge on how to run a business was still being worked through. Understanding and processing that was difficult.

During the next week he'd also spent some time shopping for himself. As it was, Harry's quick departure of Britain meant that he'd left with only the clothes on his back and a reasonable amount of magical items he had taken from his vaults. The first things he bought were clothes. Through habit they were mostly black and other dark colours; Death Eaters (before Harry had defeated them) attacked at night. The darker your clothes the stealthier you could be and that meant you had a higher chance of surviving.

He had then spent the following three weeks going over his finances, making sure everything was legal and binding in the muggle world. His numerous stocks and shares he had inherited had been organised, and legal council set up to maintain and run the companies he held majority over. He had, at the advice of a high priced advisor he had arranged, began the creation of a parent company that would slowly but surely 'buy' the stocks and shares he owned from himself so that they were under his name and not a proxy.

Marauder Industries was born. For a year or so Harry would only hold position as majority shareholder, owning 51 percent of MI. A wizard businessman Harry had met by the name of Ezekiel Griffis, who had extensive knowledge of both worlds would hold the position of acting CEO of the company until Harry decided he was fit to run things properly. For now he would do what he could from whatever location he called home. Headquarters would be quickly set up in Metropolis, in a 40 story building that they'd bought from a failing company that LuthorCorp was working to ruin.

This had been a stroke of luck for Harry as that meant that not only did he now have a suitable building for headquarters, but he also had a new company. Within two weeks of his plan coming into play, the company was already beginning to climb.

The fact that he had people that had extensive knowledge in the magical world as well as the non-magical, meant things were progressing nicely. Harry had been quite surprised how quickly his board of directors got over the fact that he was only 19 years old without much of an education. They had been wary at first, but when the knowledge of just how much money he held as well as his understanding of the business world, he won them over quickly.

His age had barely been looked at though. It turned out that most billionaires in this day and age where only in their mid 20's. Notable names included the CEO's of LuthorCorp, Queen Industries and Wayne Enterprises that were ran by Lex Luthor, Oliver Queen and Bruce Wayne, the oldest, Wayne, being 6 years older than Harry.

It still surprised Harry how well invested the purebloods were in the non-magical world, but then again, money was money, no matter where they got it from. Harry was quite amazed that from the dozen fortunes he had inherited from pure-blood lines that had ended, 7 percent of LuthorCorp and 16 percent of Queen Industries. The mere scope of what he owned baffled him and all those who worked for him. He had investments in dozens of other companies as well of all different shapes and sizes.

The company that MI had bought from the verge of collapse had held a large chain of companies that worked in genetics, creating viruses, relevant cures and vacinnes. This had been an interest of Harry's as he felt they had the ability to finally work out what made people magic. It was definitely possible that what gave a magic users it's ability could be replicated. He made no mention of that project, but knew to wait until the company was up and fully running. Another major holding for MI was the news industry. Harry made a guess that the purebloods had been buying shares of those companies for the point when they finally took over. Things would go a lot smoother if they could control the information the world was receiving. He found he owned 33 percent of the Daily Planet and made the immediate request to buy majority.

He had also strongly advised his board of directors to keep his name out of the news if possible and considering the fact that he owned a huge chunk of the world's news companies he rationalized that it wouldn't be that difficult.

Near the end of the month Harry had stopped by Magitek to see just what the place had to offer. He had bought a significant amount of equipment and had what he needed to help run his company from home. He'd also arranged for his headquarters to be properly warded.

Despite everything he had done in such a small amount of time his favourite purchase however was in memory of his godfather, Sirius. After his will had been read during the summer before his 6th year he had been given a letter that Sirius had written to him two weeks before his death 'just in case.'

The letter had kicked him out of his depression. Sirius had asked not to mourn for him, to enjoy his life like he would have. In his will Sirius had given most of the Black Estate and properties to him, leaving small amounts for Remus Lupin and the Tonks family. Despite Harry getting everything else, including the Black headship, Sirius had made specific mention of his Motorcycle, 'Rose.' He told Harry that the two greatest loves of his life were Harry and the bike. He'd written that if Harry wanted to do something in memory of him it was to learn to drive a bike and look after his 'Rose'.

Harry readily accepted and had Remus teach him how to drive Sirius's old enchanted Triumph. Harry took to it as quickly as he had to a broomstick. It gave Harry the same sense of freedom and peace that a broom gave and he spent the rest of his summer driving through the nearby towns and cities to the horror of the elder Dursleys.

Dudley had been quite jealous and demanded his parents buy him something similar. Harry had enjoyed the look of indecision on their faces as they chose between not giving their son something and their son having something that Vernon most definitely didn't approve of.

Needless to say that they eventually gave into their sons demand and Dudley spent the next several months with a broken leg. Harry still smiled at the thought.

Harry however had now retired the old 1980's Triumph and felt that it was time for him to buy one of his own. A day later and several mild compulsion charms on the dealership owner Harry was the proud owner of a black MV Agusta SPR that he had named 'Illustris.' He'd taken it to Magitek and had it made resistant to magical interference and bought several charm books in order to make whichever modifications he wanted to the bike. He'd spent the next couple of days layering several important charms to the bike as to keep it in top condition. Sirius would have been proud.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Monday, October 11__th__ 2004)_

After exactly 30 days, Harry found himself walking back along the corridor of floor -16 back to the office of Arthur Jones. He knocked on the door and was instantly welcomed in. "Harry, good to see you again. Have you had busy month?" he asked and shook Harry's hand.

Harry smiled, never having had a busier, or pleasant month in his life, "I've had enough to keep me occupied. Get everything get sorted?" Harry asked, enquiring about the reason he had visited the man's office in the first place.

"Straight to the point then? Take a seat." Harry sat down opposite the man's desk and waited whilst he pulled out several pieces of paper from a folder from his desk. "It seems that allowing you into the country was more difficult than I initially thought."

"How so?" Harry asked.

"Well, a week after you left Britain the ICW was called into session." Arthur shot Harry a slightly amused look, "It seems that you have been declared a Dark Lord throughout most of the Ministries in Europe. As I understand it, the British Ministry were quite annoyed with you… something to do with you ruining their economy and stealing several billion galleons of Ministry money." Harry smiled slightly. "Thankfully they haven't made any mention of this to the non-magical governments."

"Obviously the European governments agreed readily with Britain's views as they so obviously have done in the past. However, most countries outside of the EU have declared that if you approach them they will gladly grant you citizenship."

"Oh?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow. He had suspected Europe would rally against him, but hadn't expected other countries to protect him.

"Yes, as of now you have offers of citizenships from every continent on Earth other than Europe. I suppose with the money and power you have it was to be expected. America made no mention of you already applying for citizenship."

"And how did 'America' know that I had?" Harry asked with a frown.

"As I said, when word reached the upper echelons of government that Harry Potter was trying to make a home in America they became quite interested. During the second week I spoke with the Secretary of Magic himself about this."

"The Secretary of Magic? He's the guy in charge, right?"

"Yes, he would be the equivalent of your Minister." Harry nodded in understanding, "Well he was quite happy to have you granted with citizenship under the name 'Harry Evans' but there was one thing…" Arthur trailed off looking slightly uncomfortable.

"What does he want?" Harry asked with a frown. He had been expecting something like this. Nothing was ever free.

"Well, he was understandably disappointed when, after researching you that you wouldn't be staying in the magic world."

"Wait," Harry interrupted. "Researching me?"

"Hmmm, yes. He has some rough details on training you've been through and of how powerful you are. In fact, you have been deemed 5th most powerful magic wielder currently alive in the world, and 2nd for combat training."

Both Harry's eyebrows rose this time, "5th most powerful in the world? What?"

Arthur chuckled at Harry's confusion, "Indeed. Now, these statistics aren't completely accurate, but there are only 4 other people alive that equal you in magic strength. We have reports of 2 healers in Africa and one in Russia, and then there is a 219 year old man in China who has more magic and knowledge in battle magic than anyone alive, however his age deters his duelling somewhat. Due to your combined knowledge, skill and power you have been deemed the most dangerous magic user."

"Dangerous?" Harry asked in surprise.

Arthur nodded, "So the Secretary of Magic knows I'm trained and powerful, what does he want?"

"Merely you're help if a situation arises that they are unable to handle. It is nothing more than a worst cast scenario situation for them. You will however have the right to refuse to help if you believe that it is too much for you to handle. In exchange for your help in such manners you're current location will be held in the utmost security and your identity in the non-magical world will be iron-clad."

Harry sighed. All in all it wasn't bad. He could remain anonymous and his 'Saving people thing' probably would have forced him to help if they had such problems anyway. "I accept."

"Excellent. Now, you have several forms you will need to fill out and sign, after that, you're an American citizen." He pushed over the blue folder on his desk and Harry removed the papers from inside. He groaned. This was going to take ages.

**OoOoOoOoO**

An hour later Harry was rubbing his aching wrist as Arthur checked over all the forms he had just signed. "Everything seems to be in order." he muttered to himself. He looked up at Harry, "Those shall be entered into the system within the next 24 hours and you'll have a full non-magical background." He grinned and offered his hand, "Welcome to America Harry Evans."

Harry smiled and shook his hand again. "Now," started Arthur whilst pulling a small package from his desk. "I have you're Magitek protection bracelets here." He handed over the small package to Harry. Harry opened it with a small flick of his wrist and levitated the two small silver bracelets from the box. Arthur's eyes widened at the use of wandless magic but spoke nothing of it.

With the bracelets still floating in the air Harry cast numerous detection charms. Detecting no immediate wayward charms upon it Harry used one of his favourite enhancements of his Omni-lenses, one that he had happily paid 6000 galleons to have added.

Harry stared at the items intently. Arthur's eyes widened in shock as Harry's eyes began to glow pure white for a moment before they settled back to their usual emerald green. Harry nodded to himself before summoning the small silver rune covered bands to his hand and placing one on each wrist. They flashed briefly before settling down. Harry looked over to Arthur to find him starting at him oddly.

"W-what was that?" he asked hesitantly.

"The glowing eyes thing?" Harry asked. He was sure that was the reason, but it never hurt to ask. Arthur nodded. "You remember I told you that I bought Omni-lenses last time I was here?" Another nod. "What I did just there was use one of the more expensive features it offers. What it does is using legilimancy and magic from the lenses, scan any magical item and breakdown and identify the numerous enchantments and charms placed upon it. It's usually used by ward breakers to identify just which wards are protecting an area."

"That's… that's remarkable. I didn't know such a thing was possible."

"Few do apparently, but then again, few actually buy the lenses due to the price."

Arthur nodded at the explanation, "How do you know which charms and enchantments are on an item when you use that feature? How are they displayed to you?"

"Have you heard of an HUD before?" Harry asked.

"Heads-up display?" Arthur asked with a small frown.

Harry nodded, "The names of the spells are shown written before my eyes. Not a description or incantation, but just the name of the spell attached. Thankfully most spells are named suitably enough that I can tell what they are from that."

"So you've determined that the bands are safe?"

"I have. There are only shield type spells, very obscure ones as well. There are no tracking or repressive charms on it though. They're safe."

"You suspected that the bracelets were dangerous?" Arthur asked curiously.

Harry nodded, all expression falling from his face, "In my lifetime I've been kidnapped by portkey 3 times, and had magical suppressing bracelets placed on me once. I don't take chances with magical items easily." He warily attached a bracelet to each wrist, "There is a reason I want no part of the magical world."

Arthur gulped and nodded, not wanting to think about how bad Harry's life had been before fleeing to America. He had seen at least a dozen small white scars cover the young man's arms, one white crescent shaped line that started at the bottom of left his ear and ran down across his neck and down into his shirt. The most frightful of the marks was the scar that started as a violently red lightning bolt and ran down his forehead, missing his eye and finishing just past his nose. The small patches of grey hair amongst the black showed that the young man had clearly experienced some highly stressful times.

Allowing his imagination to think about just how he got those scars would give him nightmares for weeks afterwards.

Seeing that the conversation had taken a tad too serious turn Harry steered away from the subject, "What of houses and a place in school?"

Arthur smiled glad to be on a different subject, "You have a place in the school. We faked your grades obviously, but with the information Mellissa West from downstairs tells me you'll be able to achieve similar grades with no problems. How are you coming with those memories by the way?"

"Fully integrated as far as I'm aware."

"Good, good. Now, housing; you said you were looking for something with two or three bedrooms correct?"

Harry shrugged, "Something like that. Found something acceptable?"

"I think so. Short of building a house, there aren't many homes for sale at the moment. There is one however." Arthur typed a few things into the keyboard in front of him and rotated the monitor towards Harry. Several pictures of a huge white house showed. Arthur pushed several more keys and images from inside the house appeared. Harry looked through them. The house was spacious and seemed very comfortable.

Harry flicked through several more images. The house looked good. Sure, it was far bigger than something he initially wanted but it would do for storage space. "What can you tell me about it?"

"As you may have seen from the photos, it has five bedrooms, three bathrooms. Very spacious with a large garden. It's around 10 miles out of the town but near several other homes. The price however is reasonably low for a house its size as it's not had an owner in almost a year and the last person to move in stayed for a little over a month. What do you think?"

Harry though for a moment. Rational thought was telling him that he should visit the house and have it checked out by professionals, but the impulsive part of his mind, the Gryffindor side, was telling him to just buy it now. After all, if there were things wrong with it, magic and money could sort it and he had plenty of both.

"I'll take it." he said with certainty.

"You'll what?" Arthur asked, quite surprised that Harry had chosen the house so quickly.

Harry smiled, "I said 'I'll take it'. It looks good and I trust my instincts. It's far bigger than what I wanted, but that's fine. It's also slightly isolated. It seems good."

"Um... you wish for me to put in an offer for it?"

"Please." said Harry with a nod. "How long do you think it will take to buy it?"

Arthur smiled, "With magic, by the end of the day."

"Great. So you'll get that sorted for me?"

"Of course. I will need financial information from you though."

Harry nodded and pulled a black leather wallet from the back pocket of his jeans. He pulled out one of his bank cards and passed it to Arthur. "Thank you Harry."

Harry sat and watched as the older man became typing the details into the system. The monitor was still turned slightly so Harry was able to watch as the relevant details were input. Five minutes later and Arthur looked up from the screen. "What I just did there was send of a request to another department down the hall who will dispatch someone to have the property bought for you. With a process such as this slightly more money is paid to the realtor as we do have to manipulate them slightly. You understand of course?" he asked Harry, slightly worried that Harry would disprove of the methods. It was something that was done quite often, but they always made sure the non-magic users were given something in return.

To his relief Harry just shrugged, "I understand. Sure it's wrong to an extent, but nobody's getting harmed, and, as you said, they get paid more money this way." It truthfully didn't bother him. It would have been hypocritical if it had as he had bought himself a motorcycle using a similar method five days before.

"Is that everything sorted then?" Harry asked.

Arthur checked his computer screen and his notepad and nodded, "Yes. We'll contact you when your citizenship is complete and when the purchase on the house has been completed. All the relevant documents such as passports, driver's licenses and ownership papers and receipts for what the Ministry service will charge you will be left securely in the house for your arrival... and that appears to be everything."

Arthur stood up and Harry took that as meaning he was dismissed. He stood up and shook Arthur's hand, "Thank you for all your help. I would have been quite lost without you."

"Not a problem." he replied.

Harry cocked his head to the side, "Tell me Arthur, do you do this much for everyone that comes by your office?"

Arthur smiled looking quite pleased with himself, "Not at all Mr Evans. Only for the rich, after all, they pay the best."

Harry smiled. He had no problem with paying the man a bit extra. He had done a lot of work for him over the last week. He pulled a cheque book from the inside pocket of the knee length black jacket he'd just put on again and wrote down a few numbers, ripped it from the book and passed it to the man.

Arthur accepted the cheque from Harry with a smile and his eyes widened at the amount written on the small piece of paper. "I... Thank you Harry. That's more than generous." He continued to glance down at the paper as if to make sure he wasn't imagining things. After all, that amount of money was more than he made in the last 2 years.

"Not at all Arthur. I meant it when I said that I'd be lost without you." Harry responded. He felt slightly bad about using so much money in a single week given what he grew up on, but managed to shrug it off. After all, half the money in his accounts had been owned by the Malfoy family a few months ago. Giving it to muggles just seemed fitting.

Funny too.

"Call me if there is anything else you need whilst in the country Harry."

Harry smiled in thanks, "I will." Harry sent a casual salute to the man before turning and walking to the door, "See you around Arthur."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Upon arriving back at his hotel Harry immediately packed up his belongings and checked out of the hotel. Arthur had told him that everything should be sorted in 24 hours and that was nearly how long it would take him to reach Kansas. Sure, he could have apparated, portkeyed or even used lightning travel, but when he had a new toy to try out, why would he?

After exiting the hotel Harry searched for the nearest alley and walked towards it. With a wave of his hand he cast a strong notice-me-not ward around the area and pulled out a small motorcycle from his pocket. Placing it on the ground Harry waved his hand again, cancelling the shrinking charm that had been placed on the bike.

Within seconds a full sized motorcycle stood before him. Harry took a moment to admire it. It truly was beautiful. Sleek and black with emerald green writing on the side. Whilst he loved his Firebolt, he felt it paled in comparison to this. With a top speed of around 180mph it outstripped his old broomstick despite the marginally slower acceleration.

Sitting upon it Harry started the engine. After several minutes of casting protection spells that would protect him in case he fell off as well as conjuring sunglasses he took off. He was initially a bit wobbly on the high powered bike, but after a few minutes memories began to activate from what he had learned from the pensieve and his confidence rose. He wasn't perfect at driving it yet, but then, he had 1400 mile journey ahead of him. If anything could get him proficient in driving it would that. Harry smiled, this was going to be fun.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN: **_Marauder Industries came to me quite late in the story. I was trying to think what job Harry could have after he finishes his education. I was never going to have him be a reporter and I was going to go the John Jones (Martian Manhunter) route and put him as a police officer. Then I decided that he'd have to start off as a rookie and take forever to work his way up to a position where he could just vanish at times. In the end, I decided to go the Oliver Queen/Bruce Wayne route and give him a company. Cliché? Meh._


	4. Home

**AN:**_A short chapter, but only two people reviewed the last chapter so you don't deserve it anyways. This is the last chapter before the Smallville characters are introduced, so I figured I'd get it out of the way._

**Chapter 4 - Home**

Over the next 12 hours Harry felt freer than he had in years. Due to the long straight roads and the small modification's Harry had quickly found himself driving at the motorcycles top speed. He'd never felt such a rush soaring down the highways and dodging cars at speeds his Firebolt would never have achieved. He'd past a cop car once at full speed but had quickly managed to lose it

He'd only stopped three times on his journey; twice to find something to eat and once to run through his occlumency exercises. That was the closest he got to sleep these days. After his magic matured on his 17th birthday he found that he required a lot less sleep than he had before. After speaking with Dumbledore on the matter he'd been told that the more magic a wizard had the less sleep they actually needed. Dumbledore had said that he only required one hour sleep per night to feel fully rested and that he felt that Voldemort didn't need sleep at all.

As the end of the year came about Harry also found that to be true of himself and he hadn't slept since. Whilst he could sleep and desired to do so at times, his subconscious still hadn't truly forgiven him for the deaths of his friends. While conscious Harry could deal with it easily enough. He knew that his friends would never forgive him if he had gotten depressed over their deaths. If he had learned one thing from his life in the magic world was that life was short and could end at anytime, so enjoy it or give up. Harry was proud to say to he wasn't a quitter.

In replacement for sleep Dumbledore had taught Harry several occlumency exercised that he used instead. The most effective method was one that basically shut down all though processes. Harry would place several wards around himself and after a set amount of time, snap out of the trance more refreshed than he'd ever felt. It was far better than sleep. The only problem was that it left Harry with far too much free time on his hands.

So 12 hours after leaving New York and all the fun in between Harry found himself passing a sign post that showed him exactly where he was

_Welcome to SMALLVILLE KANSAS, Pop, 45,001 – The Meteor capital of the world!_

Upon passing the sign Harry slowed his bike down to an acceptable public speed and took in his surroundings. It was beautiful. Field after field for miles on end with the silhouette of the high rises of Metropolis in the distance. Harry felt quite nervous the further he drove. This was where he was going to _live_. He'd already bought a house here and enrolled in school. Was he mad? Probably, but at least he'd get something of an adventure out of it, even if it would be tamer than his usual.

Following the directions he'd received by phone call from Arthur a little over an hour ago Harry drove towards his newly purchased home. He passed through the small quiet town taking in and memorising the shops and locations around. The town was quiet and a quick glance at his watch showed that most people were still either working or at school. "Where I'll be tomorrow…" Harry muttered to himself as he drove by.

Five more minutes past by and Harry had passed through the main town and was on his way to where he assumed his new home was. Stopping outside of a large white house he dismounted his bike. From the small feeling of magic emanating from the house Harry knew that it was his.

He turned around and took a good look at his surrounds. In the distance, perhaps a mile away Harry could see a large red barn beside a small yellow house. The house was almost completely hidden from his view by a copse of trees surrounding it. He suppressed a shudder as he looked to his left. A graveyard. After his fourth year they had, and rightfully so, set him on edge. He'd just have to ignore it. He looked away from the graveyard and too his right, the direction he had just come from. He saw the town and a '_Meteor capital of the world' _sign less that a quarter mile away. What impressed him most was the view behind the house. Whilst he could see a LuthorCorp factory to the south-east, the south west was a beautiful forest area with a wide river running behind it. He promised himself that he'd check out the area later.

He walked up the small steps in front of the porch and saw a small envelope stuck by magic to the door with '_Mr Evans' _written on it. Using his Omni-lenses Harry scanned the envelope and saw that it only held a muggle repelling charm. Harry summoned the envelope and opened it to find a set of keys.

Instead of using magic to unlock and open the door as he usually would he placed the key in the lock and turned it. The lock of the door clicked open and Harry stepped inside. It really was quite exciting. With a glance towards the light on the roof all the lights in the house turned on. During his week long stay in a muggle New-York hotel Harry had realised that with his ability over lightning also applied to normal electricity. He could absorb it from an electrical outlet and control it around him. Whilst he was sure there was more he could do with the ability all he was able to do now was activate electrical appliances with a thought.

The inside of the house was relatively empty, only containing the items in the house that one wouldn't take when they left such as the fridge-freezer, oven, etc. A thin layer of dust covered everything in the house. That would be the first thing to be sorted. Restraining the impulse to use a large amount of magic to dispel the dust Harry took a small trunk from his jacket pocket, placed it on the ground and resized it.

The trunk was similar to the one that Alastor Moody had carried with him whilst Harry had attended his 4th year at Hogwarts except for the fact that it only contained one keyhole. This however didn't mean it only had one. The trunk held an almost infinite amount of space and only the willpower of the person keyed into the trunk could open the compartment of choice.

Harry placed his hand upon the trunk and with the tiniest flare of magic it unlocked and opened. The compartment Harry opened was the one he had dedicated to items he had picked up from Magitek. From the trunk Harry pulled out one of a small number of white crystals. He closed the trunk, shrunk it and pocket it again and then placed the small crystal on the floor.

"Activate ward crystal." Harry spoke clearly. The crystal began to glow slightly before increasing in intensity. After only a few second the crystal began to dim again before it faded completely. The crystal had held a pre-set ward scheme to be used in non-magical, non warded homes. The ward would protect all electrical items from magical bursts or wards that surrounded the property.

Satisfied that the ward crystal had worked correctly Harry began to pull his magic to the surface. With a small grunt and a white flash all the dust and grime inside the house vanished. He'd used the same spell on a whim at Grimmauld Place after he turned 17 and whilst it didn't clean the entire house, it made sizeable area that looked brand new. The rest of the house and been fully cleaned shortly afterwards.

Fred and George had called him 'The Boy-Who-Cleaned' for two solid weeks afterwards to the amusement of all but Harry. He sighed, he would miss seeing the two jokers around. Even during the harshest parts of the war they could make him laugh.

Harry then started his self-guided tour around the house making minor alterations as he did. With a flick of the wrist he could change the colour of the paint in any room and made use of it. Deciding that Gryffindor colours to be too outlandish he stuck to light colours. On the upper floor he chose the largest bedroom (with an en-suite bathroom) for himself, despite not actually needing a bed.

Throughout his tour it very quickly became obvious that the people who had owned it previously (not the person that had stayed for a week, but the family before hand) had been female and so he made several further adjustments to make it more 'male friendly', leaving only one room 'female'.

Once suitably pleased with his new colour scheme Harry moved onto his next task. Furniture. Whilst in New York he hadn't even considered buying any. One of the hardest things Harry had learned during his private tutoring with both Albus Dumbledore and Minerva McGonagall was the art of permanent transfiguration and the related magical branch of permanent conjuration.

Whilst Minerva had been proficient in the art, Albus was a master. Harry had learned that during the Sirius Black scare of Halloween in his third year that Albus had permanently conjured sleeping bags for every student in the school with a single spell. He'd told Harry that he found it easier to create permanent items and vanish them later than conjure items to disappear after a designated time. Harry was nowhere near as gifted as Albus was, but he felt confident enough in himself that he could permanently conjure whichever furniture he needed.

Harry paused in front of the fireplace in the main sitting room and concentrated hard on what he wanted. After a moment Harry had the mental image of what he wanted and waved his hand through the air. With a thump a large dark blue couch dropped to the floor. Harry then spent several minutes casting numerous charms to the chair. He sat down on it to test how well the spell had worked. Harry smiled as he sank down on the couch. It was perfect; a perfect recreation of the couches in Ravenclaw tower. He spent quite a few evening in there with the Ravenclaw members of the DA and fell in love the couch immediately. It was by far the most comfortable thing he'd ever sat on.

Pleased with his success Harry brought an image to mind of a single seat chair similar to the couch and conjured it in the corner of the room. With his work a success he moved on through the house.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Wednesday October 13__th__ 2004 – Smallville Kansas)_

It was later on at 4am that Harry finally finished the work in his house and collapsed, physically, magically and mentally exhausted on his favourite couch by the fire. He knew he shouldn't have worked himself into such a state but his desire to finish the house pulled him through. He had spent the past several hour's constantly conjuring, repairing and sorting items. His most difficult task had been setting up the electrical items he bought from Magitek throughout the house, including an office space that held an extensive amount of computer hardware.

Harry had eventually sussed out the subtle intricacies of each item and everything now worked perfectly as far as he knew. Harry had used one of the spare bedrooms at the far end of the house and had warded it to the fullest extent that he knew; whilst not much, the wards were strong and no one short of a ward breaker could get through. Harry was quite please with the ward that would even stop 'Mad-eye Moody's' eye from seeing through. Into the room Harry had stored all of the magical items he had in his possession apart from the two charmed motorcycles which had been placed securely outside.

Pleased with his work in the house Harry placed several charms around himself and allowed his conscious and unconscious thoughts to drift off so that he could get a couple hours much needed rest as to be ready for the next morning.

His first day of school.

**AN:**_I never really understood why writers bother putting "Review" at the end of their chapters but having posted 3 chapters myself I can see where people are coming from. It's almost like an addiction and I find myself reviewing stories a lot more that I ever did before. For wannabe fanfic authors, keep that in mind._


	5. School

**AN:** _Right, new chapter and we finally begin to meet the main characters. I hope to all that is holy that I wrote them well enough for you to recognise them. I've been quite nervous about posting this one as it's my first attempt at writing predefined characters that I can't change just yet._

_Having to post this chapter feels like ripping off a plaster (band-aid to you Americans)._

_Please review honestly and if you have suggestions give them._

**Chapter 5 – School**

Harry felt himself regain consciousness and knew it was two hours since he had closed his eyes. He his body and mind felt fully rested but his magic was still quite low. He looked around the room and blinked a few times to focus his eye sight. As he looked around the room he smiled. He was on _his_ couch in _his_ new house. That thought made him smile. Sure, he had owned several dozen properties in the magical world, but other than Grimmauld Place he had never been in any of them and this was the first that was beginning to feel like _his._ He stood up and stretched, wincing as his back and neck cracked.

During his training with the Order during his 6th and 7th year Harry, on the orders of one of his trainers Kingsley Shacklebolt, he had begun to exercise his body daily. He hadn't been happy about it to begin with, but after a while he began to look forward to his morning run.

Walking up to his room he changed into some running clothes – in black – walked outside. He looked around at his new location. His only neighbours were about a mile away. He could just make out a medium sized yellow farm house through the trees that surrounded it.

He set off at a slow pace. As he continued running he couldn't help but enjoy his run more than usual. Usually he would run round the Black Lake at Hogwarts, but after a while that began lose its appeal. But now, running past fields of corn in the early morning light, this was perfect. He could scarcely believe how free he'd felt after only being away from Britain for slightly over a week. The weight of the world that had been sitting heavily on his shoulders for over 3 years was gone and he was in a new place where no one had ever heard of Harry Potter.

After a half hour run along a straight road Harry decided that he'd had enough and apparated himself back into his lounge, absently thinking that he needed to put up some apparition wards before he collapsed to one knee, magically drained. After a quick shower (Harry had realised quite quickly that long showers plus being able to emit lightning from his body was quite damaging to himself and the area around him. In order to shower he had to concentrate on his power and reduce the amount of energy he emitted to a minimum. It was difficult work) he got dressed, again in a black t-shirt, black jeans and black boots. He pulled on the single fingerless black glove over his left hand and packed up his school bag. The school bag was charmed to reduce the weight slightly and allow a bit more room than was strictly normal.

He dropped down on a kitchen chair and summoned the folder containing his details to him. He flicked through it quickly, getting a gist of who he was, or was meant to be. He frowned at the mention of the Dursley family being listed as his previous guardians. The less he thought about them, the better it was for him and everyone around him.

Satisfied that he wouldn't be giving out information that clashed with his record, he stood up, ready to leave for school. He laughed at the thought. He thought he'd been done with school, but again here he was getting ready to go back. For all the strange situations he found himself in, this was probably the most normal strange situation he'd gotten into. Harry exited the house, locking the door with his key and not with magic due to the amount he'd used the previous night, he rolled his bike out and started the engine.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry pulled up outside the school to some curious looks. With practiced ease Harry ignored them and parked his motorcycle. He had known he'd get looks like this but didn't care. During the first years of his life he'd always tried to blend into the crowd he was in, but at the Dursleys that had never happened and once he reached Hogwarts that had only gotten worse. Once he had been told the full nature of the prophecy he'd finally realised that that was never going to happen. He'd realised then that he was never going seen as everyone else was.

He'd taken a similar outlook to his new life here. After all, he was the new kid, probably the only British student, scarred and with a small amount of grey hair. He was never going to be able to drop into the background and that was why he turned up to first day at a new school on his superbike without any protective gear. Harry was able to discern what most of the looks he was getting were; a mixture of curiosity and, from some of the girls, looks of attraction. He shrugged them off.

Harry dismounted his bike. His natural instincts were telling him to place some protection spells around the bike, but he didn't dare use any magic at the moment.

He walked into the school, past curious chatting students and was unable to stop the smile on his face as he looked around. The corridor was in Gryffindor colours. The floors were dark red and the lockers were a combination of red and goldenrod. If the colour scheme wasn't familiar enough, the school mascot certainly added to that. A crow. Whilst it wasn't a raven, he knew that the two birds were of the same family. Gryffindor colours and the Ravenclaw emblem.

Harry smile quickly turned into a frown. It was _too_ similar to be coincidence, hell, he scarcely believed in coincidences. He'd picked the first town he'd been told of and the school just happens to resemble the two houses he'd spent most time. He had the sinking feeling that whilst his destiny involving Voldemort had ended another one had started.

"Oh hell," he whispered.

He was brought from his thoughts by a female voice behind him, "Can I help you?"

Harry turned towards the voice and started to respond but stopped before he could start. He saw her eyes widen ever so slightly as she looked at the scar on his face. The girl was several inches shorter than him, around 5ft 5' with long straight brown hair and the most beautiful light brown eye's he'd ever seen. She smiled at him and Harry could have sworn she had Veela blood in her. She was stunning. He stared into them for a moment before realising what he was doing. "Um," He winced. He hadn't stuttered around a girl in years. Her smiled dimmed somewhat and Harry knew she'd witnessed his attraction to her. From what he could tell, it was common for her. He cleared his throat and his mind and tried again. He smiled, "Yes. Please. I'm new here and I've got no idea where to go."

She seemed to have expected the answer and she continued to smile, "No problem. The principal's office is just down that corridor. The doors marked, you should find it easily enough." she said as she pointed to her right.

Harry looked down the corridor she had pointed to and smiled, "Thank you, Miss...?"

"I'm Lana Lang." She held out her hand for Harry to shake.

Harry held his hand out to hers but when her hand touched his he rotated it 90 degrees, bend over and kissed the knuckles on her hand in the way of greeting a beautiful woman in the usual pureblood custom. He may never have followed their ideals, but they got some things right.

"Harry Evans." he replied, remembering not to identify himself as a 'Potter' at the last second. He shot her a 'James Potter' grin, one that could make the usually stern Minerva McGonagall smile. "Thank you again Miss Lang." He let her hand drop back to her side, turned and walked down the corridor she indicated leaving a surprised and slightly flattered girl behind him.

**OoOoOoOoO**

His meeting with Principal Reynolds had gone well. He'd spent over an hour in his office talking about his grades, his previous school and his goals for the future. Harry managed to bluff his way through it quite well. His record indicated that he'd gone to a boarding school for the gifted in Scotland and his grades had been excellent. Principal Reynolds had been quite pleased with that, but when the conversation reached what he wanted to do after school he seemed slightly disappointed that Harry didn't have a solid plan.

Harry explained that the reason for his move across the world was to find a new place to start over and that he was sure he'd find something he wanted to do soon. That seemed to satisfy the principal for the moment. With a slight touch of legilimancy to the man Harry found out that he genuinely cared for his students and that he pushed them hard to better themselves.

Once the talked had ended Harry had been given his timetable, booklist. Upon looking at his timetable he saw that he had all of Wednesday off and therefore had no classes. He was told to wait outside the corridor for his 'mentor' to arrive and show him around. A mentor was something that was assigned to all new students so that someone from their year could show them around for their first week.

Harry smiled as a familiar face walked towards where he stood, "Lana Lang, we meet again." Without conscious effort Harry's legilimancy probed her mind. It was something that he couldn't really control. In an effort to learn occlumency he had to learn just what was being used to try penetrate his mind. He had been warned by Dumbledore that learning the art of legilimancy was a double edged sword. Dumbledore had warned him that if he should prove sufficient at it, it would be an automatic reaction when looking anyone in the eye. It was something that Harry discovered affected Dumbledore as well. He'd hadn't been sure what to think when he found out that Dumbledore's twinkling eyes were him actually scanning your mind. Harry had wanted to learn, wanted to improve himself and so agreed quickly to learn. To him now, legilimancy was his sixth sense; he couldn't shut it off if he tried.

Dumbledore had been working on a pair of custom glasses, like his own half-moon glasses, for Harry to stop legilimancy before he died. Harry had never found the appropriate notes and thus had to live with it. Thankfully he was able to tone down the mental probe down to the point where he could only detect lies and truth.

Harry's scan was specifically target to her personality in a similar way to how the sorting hat operated, albeit only a small amount. Thankfully he was able to tone down his legilimancy to not view a person's surface memories. It was something Dumbledore did and Harry had no wish to become him. He saw was that she was highly trusting and had a similar yearning for people to trust in her. He saw that she was highly driven, smart and strong; a good combination of all four houses if ever there was one.

There was also something else in her mind that Harry couldn't quite discern. It seemed slightly magic and somewhat familiar, but he couldn't place it. He smiled again. She was a good person.

"Hi Harry." She said with a smile

"You're my 'mentor' then?" Harry asked unnecessarily.

"I am. Welcome to Smallville High. Come on, I'll give you the tour."

"You've not got class or anything just now?"

She shook her head, "I've got a free periods this morning."

"Ah." said Harry in understanding.

"Come on then."

Harry nodded and followed her back from where she came, pointing out details and some history of the school. Harry caught her giving him curious looks every now and then. Her glances were subtle but Harry had been trained by the best to know when someone watching him. As she glanced at him again he couldn't help but laugh. He stopped in the empty corridor and leaned against a wall, "Ask your questions Lana."

She smiled back at him with a slightly guilty look at being caught, "You're from England then?"

Harry nodded, "I am. Born and… _raised_ there but went to a boarding school in Scotland."

She tilted her head, "What's boarding school like?"

Harry thought for a moment, trying to think how to describe the wonder that is Hogwarts to a muggle. "It was... an experience, albeit one I'm looking to put behind me." Harry answered honestly.

She smiled but still looked curious so Harry continued, "I'm not really sure how to explain it as I've not got much to compare it to. The school was in a castle so there was a lot to explore. I was in close quarters with a lot of people for 7 years there and made… some really close friends." Harry said, stumbling over his words slightly as images of Ron and Hermione flashed through his mind. "The school was the same one my parents went to so it was quite strange most of the teachers know your parents quite well."

"I suppose that would be weird. So you moved here with your family?"

"No. Just me."

"Oh," she said, surprised. "Do you mind if I asked why?"

Harry hesitated for a second. He'd accepted his parent's death years ago and had no _real _problem with it. He knew that they were watching over him and were proud. What did bother him was the look of pity he got when he told people for the first time. He decided to be honest with the girl, after all, she seemed nice and he did want to try and make friends here. He needed friends. "My parents were murdered when I was 15 months old. It's just me left."

He waited for the look of pity. He called it slightly wrong though. Her look wasn't of pity; it was of horror. "Oh my god. I'm so sorry."

Harry smiled reassuringly, "It's alright. It happened a long time ago and the bastard that did it got what he deserved."

She looked slightly better than she had before, but the look was still there. "I'm… I'm sorry that I brought that up on your first day here."

Harry smiled at her again trying to really reassure her that he _was_ fine with it. He had accepted his parent's death. He'd worked on his people skills over the years and had some semblance of an idea of to deal with an upset girl. He ignored the urge to use a mild calming charm on her. "Really, it's ok. I know they're watching over me and I know that they're proud of what they see."

"Really?" she asked. Even without the smallest touch of legilimancy Harry could also tell that she was an orphan as well.

"Yeah, I know they are." Harry subconsciously rubbed the gold and black ring he constantly wore on the ring finger on his right hand. Before she could ask any more on just _how _Harry knew this he asked a question of his own, "You're an orphan as well?"

She looked surprised that he'd realised but answer none the less, "Yeah. My parents died when I was three during the meteor show." Her mind was clearly broadcasting the event as she spoke of it so that without even intentionally using legilimancy he could see the event as it happened from her eyes.

"I'm sorry. That's horrible." Harry said softly.

Deciding that their conversation had reached a slightly depressing edge Lana changed the subject, "So why did you move to Smallville?"

Harry shrugged, "I… don't really know." She laughed. "I had a… really tough year and I just knew I had to leave Britain and find somewhere else. Smallville just caught my eye, and well, here I am. I really just wanted to find somewhere else where nobody knew me, somewhere to start over, you know?"

"Yeah I do. I actually moved to France and started at an arts school a few months back for the same reason."

"Why did you came back?"

She shrugged, "Something felt as though it was calling me back." Harry heard the half truth in sentence. He'd become and expert at reading them due to most things coming from Albus Dumbledore's mouth being half truths.

"So where are you living?"

"Um... not quite sure on the address yet but it's the huge white house just on the outskirts of town. You know the one I mean?" Her eyebrows shot up in surprise. "I assume you know the one I mean then?" Harry asked.

"Yeah. The Potter house. I lived there for 15 years. I didn't even know anyone was living there anymore." Harry only stare at Lana in shock.

"The _Potter_ house?" he asked with wide eyes. _'There is no way!'_ he thought to himself whilst trying to stop his imminent heart attack with his mind. _'There is no fucking way!'_

"Yeah, my Aunt Nell owned it before she moved to Metropolis. She was a Potter before she was married." Lana said. "Why?"

Harry could feel a migraine coming on along with his heart attack. He rubbed his head, willing his headache away. Realising that Lana was looking for an answer he made up one, "At my school, there was a Potter that went there. He was something of a friend of mine. He'd no doubt find the name of the house amusing." '_Horrifying,' _Harry mentally corrected. He was beginning to regret coming to this town.

"Really? Maybe we're distantly related. My family moved over from France a few hundred years ago."

Harry mentally sighed in relief. The Potter's hailed from Wales and had for almost 500 years. He'd seen the Potter Family Tree after he'd come into his inheritance and to his knowledge there were no French lines. He actually had the self-updating tapestry in his home. He'd not paid much attention to it, other than a cursory glance. He'd definitely look it up later and see if 'Lana Lang' was on any branch of his family. At this point, he wouldn't be surprised. He hoped that this was only a coincidence.

Harry shrugged at her question and decided to move the conversation on, "Maybe. I only moved in yesterday, but the house is all sorted. You wouldn't even recognise it now."

She looked thoughtful for a moment, "That's funny. I don't recall seeing any delivery vans and Clark didn't mention someone had moved in either."

Harry felt like smacking himself. How could he not have thought that people wouldn't notice the absence of things being delivered to the house in such a small town? He rubbed the back of his neck and quickly came up with what he hoped was a plausible lie, "The house is technically not even in Smallville, so it's not really a surprise I could turn up unnoticed."

He sighed as she seemed to buy into his excuse. His relief was short lasted as she asked another question, "That's an interesting tattoo. What does it mean?" He froze at the question and realised that she'd seen it as he rubbed the back of his head. On his right wrist was a magical tattoo of an equilateral triangle surrounding a circle that surrounded a vertical line. He though for a moment. Arthur Jones had told him that strange things happened in this town. He took a chance and attempted to explain his tattoo with as much truth as he could afford. Her reaction would be a good judge of how people in this town really dealt with strange things.

"It's the symbol of an ancient legend called the Deathly Hallows, three powerful items given by Death himself to three wandering brothers who bested him. The night after I heard the story I woke up with it. No idea how I got it whilst in a castle in Scotland." The story was true for the most part. The symbol had just appeared one morning and no amount of magic had been able to remove it.

What he did know was why the tattoo had appeared. It had appeared the morning after he had won his first real dual with Dumbledore and won the allegiance of the Elder Wand that Dumbledore had carried since Grindewald's defeat in 1945. That moment had been, in a sense the passing of the torch of the resistance. At that point, soon after his 7th year the Order and the DA had been merged and Harry seen as the true leader. The passing of the Elder Wand was deemed as Dumbledore _literally_ passing on the torch of leadership to his protégé. Harry still had the powerful wand with him, even if he didn't dare use it.

The tattoo marked him as the Master of Death. He'd still to work out what that meant.

At the shocked look of Lana's face Harry thought that the story had been a bit too much and was preparing to remove the last few second from her mind. Before he could she spoke, "Really?" Her tone was breathless and Harry couldn't quite work out why.

"Yeah, why?" Harry asked, ready to remove the last few seconds from her mind. That was an easy skill for a legilimens.

She took a deep breath and seemed to consider her answer, "When I was in Paris I was in the tomb of a 17th century countess and when I touched a symbol on her tomb there was a bright flash of light and I woke up back home 12 hours later with this on my skin." She turned around slowly and lifted her top up slightly exposing her lower back to Harry.

Harry's first thoughts were, _'That's a provocative spot.' _He ignored his hormones and looked at the symbol. The symbol was of two parallel black wavy lines with an empty circle connected to each line and two filled circles on the ends where the lines were separated from each other. The tattoo was definitely magical but Harry didn't attempt to scan it with his Omni-lens for fear of being caught.

Harry distantly thought he'd seen the symbol before. He thought hard back to his school days, trying to find where he had seen the symbol before. Lana dropped her top back down covering the symbol. Harry didn't notice, he was thinking too hard. He _knew_ he'd seen the symbol before, or at least a very close version of it; something in Hermione's rune homework that he'd tried to decipher one evening out of sheer bordom.

"Water." he muttered quietly, finally recognising the mark.

"What?" Lana asked.

"Your tattoo is the runic symbol for water. It's the symbol for 'transference' I think." Harry said, trying to remember information from Hogwarts. The fact that she had a magical symbol for 'transference' marked on her worried Harry somewhat. He didn't know enough about runes to know what that mark could mean on someone, but he had the feeling that it wasn't good.

"How do you know that?" she asked slightly incredulously. "I've been trying to find out what that meant for weeks."

Harry shrugged, "A friend of mine, back at school liked to read and studied some more obscure things." Harry didn't want to say she studied ancient runes so changed it slightly, "She had an interest in symbology and I recall your symbol from some of her notes. I have something of a photographic memory." Harry's occlumency gave him a remarkable ability to recall information from his mind. It gave his memory the illusion of being photographic.

Seeing that Lana now had a lot on her mind Harry tried what he could to distract her for the moment, after all, they had been standing in the same section for nearly 10 minutes now. "How about we continue the tour?"

"Sure." she replied and they continued walking down the corridor with Lana pointing out small details.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Once they started the tour again Lana had taken Harry outside to show him around. He was impressed with the large football field, despite having no interest in the sport itself. After a 20 minute walk around the area they headed back inside. Harry quickly memorised where everything was in the school; after years of navigating around the halls of Hogwarts, this place was a piece of cake.

Eventually Harry and Lana reached a part of the school called 'The Torch.' Upon asking what 'The Torch' was Harry wished he hadn't, "It's the school newspaper. One of my best friends Chloe runs it." Harry stopped mid-step and was unable to suppress his body wincing at the mention of 'newspaper.' Lana spotted it, "Is something wrong?"

Harry hesitated to answer and felt his reaction was a bit hypocritical now that he owned the largest newspaper in the world. Still, the damage the Daily Prophet had done to him over the years wouldn't heal instantly. He'd just found out that the girl who he was actually sharing some of his past with was best friends with a _journalist._ Odds where that she would research what she could about the 'new guy' as soon as she had a free moment. He hoped to whichever deity that watched over him that his cover story held. _'It better had for the amount I paid for it.' _Harry thought. Seeing that Lana was still waiting for an answer he spoke, "I've had several unfortunate incidences with the press in my life. As of now I've yet to find a reporter or newspaper that has... well, I've never found one that I've liked before."

Lana smiled in a reassuringly, "She's not that bad. She can get a bit carried away at times, but she really is a good person." Harry just nodded but his unease was still there. Lana walked in and Harry followed behind. 'The Torch' office was quite small, with newspaper articles pinned to every wall. Several green computers sat upon the desks. The place was cluttered enough that had Hermione or Mrs. Weasley seen it, they would have gone into a cleaning frenzy. The thought made him smile which Lana misinterpreted, "See, it's not that bad."

Harry looked over to the two people in the room. The first was slightly taller than Lana with shoulder length blonde hair. She was obviously most comfortable in the room and Harry assumed her to be Lana's friend Chloe. A brief legilimancy proved to Harry that she was most certainly a journalist at heart. Her mind practically screamed 'curiosity' as she looked at him. Harry told himself to be careful around her.

The other girl was slightly taller with long light brown hair. A brief mind scan left Harry amused. It seemed she was quite the Gryffindor. Her curiosity equalled the blonde beside her. "Hey Chloe, hey Lois."

The blonde, _'Chloe,' _Harry reminded himself spoke first, "Hey Lana. Who's this?"

"This is Harry Evans. Harry this is Chloe Sullivan and her cousin Lois Lane. They both write for The Torch." Harry shook hands with both the new girls.

"So you're the new guy everyone's talking about then?" said Chloe with interest.

Harry chuckled, "People are talking about me already then?"

Chloe nodded, "Smallville's a pretty small town and a new person is always something of interest. An English guy turning up out of the blue counts. I'd say you caught most people's attention." Harry saw that she wanted to mention the scar and the tufts of grey hair, but despite her journalistic curiosity she refrained. That increased Harry's opinion of her. Perhaps there was hope for her.

Lois on the other hand had no such reservations, "That's quite a scar you've got there." she said, indicating to Harry's lightning bolt scar that now went past his eye. Harry grinned in amusement at her statement and the looks the other two girls shot her.

"It's one of my favourites," he said with a smile, even if it was slightly forced. He rubbed his right arm, over the scar that Wormtail had caused when he was just fourteen. Harry shrugged having no wish to reveal the full extent of his scar collection, despite knowing that he wouldn't be able to keep it secret for long; Voldemort had marked him permanently more than once. "I've got a couple here and there." From her mind he could instantly feel the 'protective big sister' vibe.

"Well, I'd love an interview with The Torch sometime, you being the new guy and all."

Harry thought on it. She_ was _a reporter and a reporter would never allow an interesting story to slip from their grasp. If he denied her a story now she'd ask again. And again. One thing Harry had learned from the press in his experiences was that if you gave them the story instead of making them find one themselves, they tended to go easier on you. It worked with Rita Skeeter, odds are it would work again. Hell, with his ownership of 'The Planet' he could almost consider it scouting for talent. "I'll tell you what, you provide me with a few similar stories of the same type you've written in the past. Should I like them I'll see about you getting that interview."

She looked surprised at the request, "Sure. I've got a few I could find for you. I'll get them to you for the end of the day."

Harry shrugged, "Sure."

Deciding that the tour needed to continue Lana spoke up, "Well, we better get continuing the tour."

"Yeah, sure. I'll find those articles for you later." said Chloe.

"Sure. Chloe, Lois it was a pleasure." he said with a nod and followed Lana from the room.

"That wasn't so bad then, was it?" she asked.

"No. I suppose not. For journalists, they seemed alright."

"I'm sorry about Lois. She tends to quite blunt."

Harry laughed of her concern, "Don't worry about it. I liked her. I prefer people to just say what they think about me rather than hiding from it. They both seemed nice." There was a moment of silence.

"I'm surprised you agreed with Chloe's interview from what you said before." Lana said breaking the silence.

Harry shrugged, "I'm good at reading people. I think I read her well enough to say that she saw me as something of an interest and would end up writing something about me whether I gave my consent or not. I've learned that the press are kinder to you if you agree to let them interview instead of them filling in the details they couldn't find themselves."

Lana looked surprised, "That's a pretty good summery of Chloe. What does you instinct say about me?" she asked curiously.

"Hmm..." Harry regarded her for a second. "It says that you're trustworthy and want people to trust you in return. It says that your friendly, which was obvious in itself."

She looked stunned, "Um... thanks. Is that why you told me as much as you did today?"

Harry nodded, looked away from her and they continued walking. "I'm good at reading people. You seemed to be someone I could talk to, so I did. Was I right?" he asked.

"Um, yeah, I guess."

"So you know, when Chloe asks you what you learned from me today you can tell her what you want, but do me a favour and keep the magically appearing tattoo out."

"Eh, yeah, sure." said Lana who'd had no plans revealing that. "Do you know which number your locker is?" she asked, changing the subject. Her free period was over soon and she'd have to get back to class.

Harry reached into his jeans and pulled out a small slip of paper that had his locker number and the combination written on it. "Er, it's 1338." Harry replied and they both headed towards where his locker was. It was only moments after they had arrived at his locker did the school bell ring. "I suppose you've got to head off for now?"

Lana nodded, "Yeah. Do you want to meet me by the front doors tomorrow and I'll show to your classes then?"

"Sure. Oh, tell Chloe if she gets the articles I asked for she can stop by at any time. If there aren't too many of them she could probably get the interview then. Lois is free to come as back up if she wants."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Oh, and feel free to come by with her as well."

"You sure?"

"I am. You can come and see what I've done to your old house."

She smiled, "Well, I'm sure Chloe will want to interview you as soon as possible, so imagine we'll see you later."

Harry nodded, "See you then." he said as he walked away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN: **_The next chapter will most likely be up soon as it's written from Lana's perspective on what happened in this chapter. There will be some small new bits added, but nothing substantial. I wanted to try it and see if it worked. If it's received well I'll try it again, if not, I won't. _


	6. Lana

**AN:** _I was quite impressed with the feedback I got on the previous chapter. So thanks. This chapter should logically have been part of the last chapter but the thought of posting a 10,000 word chapter after one that was less than 3,000 was just odd. That, and it would have been considerably longer than any other chapter I've written. They don't tend to be that long. Sorry._

_Not a lot of new information in this chapter, merely a change in perspective. Hope it's alright._

**Chapter 6 - Lana**

Lana Lang was feeling quite distracted. She'd been looking forward to meeting with the new British guy that the seniors had been told was starting. They'd been told the day before that someone was arriving, but nothing about when. She had volunteered quite quickly to be his mentor and show him around for the first week. She clearly remembered how strange it had felt starting at a new school on the other side of the world. She'd try and make it as painless for him as she could.

Earlier that morning she had past a few people on her way into the school that had been talking quite animatedly about the strange new guy in black with the scars, who had turned up on the motorcycle and correctly assumed that to be the new guy.

Upon walking further into the school she noticed the person she'd guessed as the new guy standing alone in the corridor with his back to her. He was quite tall, perhaps slightly over 6ft and dressed all in black. She could see from where she stood that he had flecks of grey hair atop his head. She'd heard and seen people his age beginning to go bald, but never grey. She wandered why that had happened. Deciding that he was probably lost she approached him.

She smiled as she heard him mutter, _"Oh hell" _to himself as he surveyed his surroundings. It confirmed her theory that he was the new guy. She'd felt like that in Paris quite a few times.

As he turned around she resisted the urge to gape at the livid red scar that cut down the right side of his face. The scar was strange, beginning at the top as a lightning bolt and carrying down to his cheek. There was also another scar, a white one that ran from just underneath his left ear down his neck and into his t-shirt. She also repressed a sigh as he looked at her. He was obviously attracted to her. She wasn't vain but she knew that more than a fair-share of the students in the school were.

When she had held out her for him to shake she had been surprised when he had rotated her hand and kissed it. She'd had that happen a few times whilst in Paris, but it had always been by over-confident Frenchmen and only something she smiled at to be polite. She felt it strange though that she'd felt flattered when he did it. He'd then introduced himself and shot her a smile. Again he surprised her. It wasn't one that the jocks would use on girls that they believed made them weak at the knees, but a smile that made it impossible for her not to smile back at.

He then walked off before she could mention that she'd agreed to show him around later on. She found herself looking forward to meeting the strange young man again.

**OoOoOoOoO**

She'd been called to Principal Reynolds office an hour later and she knew it was to meet with Harry again. She'd been pleased that he smiled when he saw her. She would have sworn that his eyes had flashed green momentarily when they'd made eye contact.

As they walked through the almost empty school she pointed out bits and pieces and spoke what she could about it as well as mentioning small details about Smallville. All the while she had been shooting him small looks as she tried to work out why his hair was slightly grey and how he'd gotten his scars.

To her embarrassment he'd noticed them and stopped. To her relief however he laughed and asked her to ask what she wanted. She stopped herself from asking too personal questions such as those about his scar and hair and asking questions she deemed 'safe'. She quickly found out that he'd lived in England and went to a boarding school in Scotland that he could only classify as 'an experience'. She'd then moved on to another safe question; one about his family.

She'd been wrong to think that it was a safe question. She'd been surprised when he'd said that he moved to Smallville by himself. When she'd asked 'why' and he replied she'd been horrified. His parents had been murdered? Her parent's death when she was three had deeply affected her, but their death had been an accident. To have had your parents been deliberately killed by someone was horrifying.

The fact that she had asked him to answer that question on his first day at a new school did not help ease her conscience. He'd only shrugged it off and she surmised that he'd seen the reaction enough and was pretending that it hadn't bothered him. He'd said that he knew they were watching over him and they were proud.

He'd said it with such confidence that she'd been a little jealous that she didn't feel the same. She'd always strived to be what she thought her parents would have wanted her to be. He seemed so confident about it.

She'd then been about to ask _how _he was so sure but he changed the subject. She was still unsure if that had been deliberate or not. She'd been surprised _again _when he had immediately caught on to her being an orphan as well. It was probably due to how she reacted when he'd mentioned his parents. Talking about her own parents deaths had surprised her. She usually remained quiet about the meteor shower, but felt that she could speak to him about it.

_'Probably and orphan thing.' _she'd thought.

She'd moved on again trying for a safe subject to ask about. She asked the one thing that she was always curious about when people moved to Smallville. Why? For as long as she could remember she wanted to move away from Smallville and do something with her life. She had tried three months ago to do that, but Smallville had called her back.

The reason he had given her had been practically word for word as to the reason she moved to Paris; he'd had a rough year and needed to leave his home, some place had caught his eye on the other side of the world and he was looking for a place to start over.

The conversation had continued and she'd asked where he was living now. When he'd described the house she'd lived in until her Aunt Nell had moved out she couldn't hide her surprise. Neither could he apparently. She'd caught the panicked look on his face when she'd mentioned 'Potter'. She hadn't bought his excuse and wondered what this Potter guy had done to him that scared him so much.

She was also curious as to how nobody noticed someone moving into the house. Whilst the house was technically on the Smallville boarders _someone _would have noticed the arrival of delivery trucks. Clark hadn't mentioned anything either. She knew that they weren't on the best of terms, but she was sure he would have mentioned someone moving into her old home. The only explanation she could think of was that Clark hadn't noticed, and that possibly seemed low.

As he rubbed the back of his head whilst explaining she had caught sight of his right wrist. One it she saw what looked like a painful circular scar and a black symbol tattoo. Having begun studying symbols and their meanings after the strange symbol appeared on her back whilst in France she was curious as to what his meant.

Harry had frozen again as she asked and she waited for him to come up with some excuse like Clark would have. His explanation of the tattoo had almost stopped her heart. It had just appeared? Was it a coincidence that he had something similar happen to him? Was it coincidence that he turned up at Smallville mere days after she had come back?

She took a calculated risk and decided to tell him about what happened to her. She felt as though she could trust him and he'd been - as far as she could tell - mostly honest with her and perhaps revealing what happened to her would answer some questions. She could also try and judge his intentions by how he reacted. Whilst he seemed to be able to hide his emotions well enough he had slipped a few times.

She'd slowly turned and showed her lower back to Harry for a moment before turning round again to see a look of intense thought on his face. She'd been just about to ask what he was thinking when he muttered, "Water." Thinking she'd misheard him she asked and he explained that the tattoo was of the runic symbol of water and transference.

This had only raised her suspicions more that there was something strange about the new guy. She'd asked how he knew that and his explanation of reading from a friends work seemed true. She was glad when he asked to continue the tour. She had a lot to think about.

**OoOoOoOoO**

She'd checked her watch then. She wanted Chloe to see the new guy. She knew her blonde friend would be highly curious about Harry and ended up researching every little detail she could find about him. Unfortunately Chloe wouldn't be in The Torch office for maybe 15 minutes. To fill in the time gap she took Harry for a tour outside. Whilst it wasn't actually on the itinerary it would do.

When she had mentioned they were outside the office for the school newspaper he winced. Whilst a fairly common reaction to some people that Chloe had personally attacked from what was more or less her personal newspaper, the reaction from a new student was surprising. He'd explained that he'd had some bad incidences with the press before and had something of a phobia of them. She didn't quite know what to think then. Why had he had to deal with the press before?

They'd walked in and he introduced them to each other. Chloe had been instantly been curious to meet the new guy that already had the school talking. She'd mentioned that to Harry and he hadn't seemed surprised. _'Another question to be answered.' _she thought to herself.

Lana had then waited for Chloe to ask about his scar and hair. Apparently Harry did as well. She caught the slightly impressed look when she hadn't asked immediately. Lois on the hand had no such reservations.

Lois had immediately commented on the scar on his face. She watched a Chloe rolled her eye's at her cousins lack of tack and gave the older girl a hard look. _Again_ Harry just laughed it off and smiled at Lois. She had watched him rub the underside of his right arm where a 7 inch white scar remained. She'd seen enough in her time in Smallville to know that it was a knife wound.

Predictably Chloe had then asked for an interview. Harry agreed much to her surprise and asked to see some similar articles before he decided. She'd expected him to flat out refuse after seeing his reaction to the newspaper before they'd entered.

They'd left and she apologized for Lois bringing up his scar. He'd said that he wasn't worried about it and he liked people to just tell him what they thought. She'd been tempted to ask him about a few things that had been bothering her, but decided to see what Chloe could find on him and maybe get to know him slightly better.

She'd asked him why he'd agreed to the interview and he'd given an explanation of Chloe that was spot on. She'd been slightly worried again. After the incident with Adam Knight spying to her she'd become slightly paranoid. She'd asked him what his instincts told him of her. What he'd said had been more or less right. She wasn't quite sure how strong she really was. It didn't help settle her unease.

He explained that he was good at reading people and that he felt he could trust her. She still didn't know what to think. He'd then given her permission to tell Chloe what she wanted to about him other than that about the tattoo. She agreed, having not told Chloe about her own yet.

Checking her watch she saw that she'd have to get to class again soon so took Harry to his locker. _'Two across from Clark' _she thought as he told her his number. She'd arrange to meet with him tomorrow morning outside of the school and he'd agreed and then said that she, Chloe and Lois were free to come round to his later for the interview and to look around.

She'd been relieved at that. Odds were that Chloe would be round there as soon as she could; she was too curious for her own good. Lois would never have let her cousin run off into an unknown situation, especially after thinking she was dead only a week ago.

She herself was highly curious about Harry and was looking for answers. She had no doubt that the three of them would be back at her old house by the end of the day.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After class ended for the day Lana headed towards The Torch knowing that Chloe would be there. She walked in to see Chloe working on her computer. She looked up and smiled, "Hey Lana. What's up?"

She smiled back and moved over to her. "Hey Chloe. I wondering if you'd found anything about the new guy yet?"

"Ah. You're just in time. I was just about to look now. I've already managed to find a few articles to show him. So, what do you think?"

Lana thought about it, "He seemed really nice, but there's something really strange about him."

Chloe's interest was immediately peaked, "Really? 'Wall of Weird' strange, or a different kind of strange?"

"The different kind. He told me that this is the first time he's been in Smallville." she said, recalling Harry saying so earlier.

"So what's strange about him?"

Lana thought about it. Other than the tattoo there was nothing definitively strange. It was just a combination of things; a feeling. "I'm not really sure. It was just a feeling."

Chloe looked sceptical, "Ok… vague answers aside, let's look and see what we can find." Lana pulled over a chair and sat down next to Chloe. She saw that Chloe already had his school record on screen. Not something that was meant to be part of the public domain. "Lets see." she said, almost to herself. "Born in England, attended a private boarding school in Scotland. Almost perfect grades throughout. Parents, Lily Rose Evans and James Charlus Evans, deceased." Chloe looked up at Lana, "Both his parents died?"

She nodded, "Yeah. He told me that they were murder when he was 15 months old." The look on Chloe's face emulated the same from hers earlier. "He seemed ok with it though."

Chloe nodded and kept reading through the file, "Godfather, Sirius Orion Black, deceased. Godmother Alice Longbottom, unknown. Previous guardians, Vernon Dermot Dursley and Petunia Violet Dursley, unknown." She looked at the screen oddly. "His mother's family really liked their flower names, didn't they?"

"Can you find any news reports on any of them? From what he said during the day, he's been mentioned in several news articles."

"Hang on, I'll check." Chloe brought up a new screen and searched for Harry's name. Lana frowned when nothing came up. She'd been sure that something would have. Chloe typed in his parent's names and again nothing came up. She tried her luck with his Godfather and they finally found something.

_Mass Murdered Escaped from Prison_

They both read through the article detailing how Sirius Black had detonated an unknown explosive in a residential area 17 years ago that resulted in a gas explosion that killed 12 people in broad daylight. There was no mention of what prison he escaped from. Stranger still though there were no articles about him being arrested after the incident, only a report stating that an accidental gas explosion had killed 12 people on the same date and location as the crime Black had been accused of.

Frowning they tried looking up his guardians. One article stood out.

_Suburban family jailed for child-abuse_

Whilst the article only ever referred to Harry as, 'the nephew' it seemed without a doubt the child that had been abused had been Harry. The article detailed how he slept in a small cupboard for 9 years of his life, used as a slave and rarely fed. There was one quote that stood out beyond the rest of the article.

'_Whilst in court Vernon Dursley stated, "We were entrusted with the little freak and it was our duty as his guardians to beat the freakishness out of him! We did nothing wrong! It was all that freaks fault! If his parents hadn't gotten themselves blown up we'd never have had him!"'_

The article was completed with several pictures. The first being one of the cupboard under the stairs. It was shown quite clearly where someone had obviously scratched '_Harys Rooom'_ onto the furthest wall. Further pictures included one of the nephews room upstairs. The small room (the article said that the Dursleys also had a large spare room that was rarely used.) was in shambles and photos included those of the supports of the small bed being supported by books and taped up. There was also a picture from outside of the house that showed where bars had surrounded the window.

"That's horrible." said a teary eyed Lana.

Chloe nodded in a similar state as Lana, "You think that's where he got his scars from?"

Lana thought about it, it seemed unlikely. "I don't know. The article never mentioned anything about him being hurt that badly."

Chloe closed the webpage down and turned towards Lana, "Alright, depressing relative's history aside, what else did he tell you? Where is he staying?"

Lana snapped out of her daze. "Oh, he's Clark's next door neighbour."

Chloe's eyebrows rose, "He moved into your old house? How didn't someone know that some one was moving in there? Who'd he move here with?"

"No one. He said that he moved here himself."

"That's a big house for just one person."

"Yeah." said Lana absently. "Why do you think his hair is going grey? I've never heard of that happening before."

Chloe shrugged, "I could only guess. It's been said though that prolonged periods of stress will cause that to happen. With the scars he has it wouldn't surprise me if that was the reason."

"You saw the one on his arm?" Lana asked.

"Which one?" Chloe asked rhetorically. "He had so many it looked as though he'd been attacked by a killer thorn bush." Chloe went silent for a second.

"The one that looked life he'd be cut with a knife?" Lana nodded. "Did you notice the glove he was wearing?"

"What about it?" Lana asked.

"Why wear it? He only had one on. I would guess that his hand is scarred or burnt." Chloe reasoned.

"Why cover that one up when he has so many?"

"Maybe it's just worse." Chloe said, trying to find some logic in her theory.

Lana nodded again, still trying to pierce together who exactly Harry Evans was.

"So," Chloe started trying to lighten the conversation somewhat. "What else did he say to you?"

"Nothing really." she said after a moments thought.

"Hmmm," Chloe mumbled. "Let's see this school of his." She typed the name of the school, 'Hogwarts School for the Gifted' into a search engine. Only 3 results appeared. Curiosity spiked Chloe clicked on the first link. It only took her 30 seconds to read the entire contents of the website. It held little to no information on the school, no contact numbers, no names or email addresses either. All it had was the school's name, its coat of arms and a message instructing that they'd contact you.

"That's it?" Lana asked in surprise.

"Yeah," Chloe said quietly, not quite able to believe that a website had so little information. Trying the other links didn't help out either as all they did was mention the school, giving no further information.

Chloe just shrugged and continued searching less legal avenues for information on her newest possible mystery.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After leaving the school Harry went and stocked up on supplies. He had no food in the house and hadn't eaten since the day before. He checked out several of the local stores and introduced himself to those that ran them. Deciding that he had enough magic for a shopping trip he portkeyed everything he bought to his home he apparated himself to Metropolis. With a minor disillusionment charm applied Harry apparated several hundred feet about the city and self-levitated himself. His ability of self-levitation had become and easy feat since the discovery of his lightning travel power. It had been a necessity after all. Whilst he was unable to move whilst in levitation he still held up hope that he could modify it enough to give him at least some semblance of flight like Voldemort had mastered.

Focusing on an alley below him he apparated down and removed the true invisibility charm. He placed a temporary glamour charm to hide his scar and change his hair colour and stepped out of the alley into the busy streets. Whilst he could create furniture with conjuration, it couldn't solve all his needs. After all, Harry didn't need sleep and that left him with a lot of free time. For the next 5 hours Harry wandered around Metropolis buying and shrinking items.

He took a quick look around MI and walked around the foyer for a few minutes, still marvelling that he _owned _this building.

After the 5 hours he felt his magic begun to reach a lower level than he felt safe with and stopped using magic. With a surreptitious glance around him he apparated back to his home in Smallville and began sorting out the mess of items he bought.

Immediately upon getting back Harry moved to his magically secure room upstairs. It took several minutes of searching through his trunk before he came across the space he'd assigned to Potter family antiques and the like. He pulled out the tapestry and opened it up on the floor. It was currently in a shrunk down size, which considering the Potter family had been around for 1500 years, meant that it was currently around 25ft long. He unrolled the bottom and looked at the newest members of the family. He knew that squibs turned up on the list as did their families afterwards, so even if Lana was a descendant of a squib, it would show. He found his own name on the list fairly quickly and looked for anyone of a similar age.

On the list there were several _very_ distant relatives that came about due to the families Pureblood heritage. Harry felt his heart stop as he read the name 'Lana Lang' on a very, very distant part of the family tree from his name. He ran his finger up the line, finding her parents, grandparents and further relatives until he found who was on her line in the 17th century. There were several names there but nothing jumped out at him.

He sighed and bumped his head off the wall he was leaning his back against. Whilst the name 'Potter' was a complete coincidence, it was still owned by a squib line related, however distantly to him. He just couldn't get a break.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN: **_The next chapter is Chloe's interview with Harry. It will be posted on Sunday evening. Should you have any questions you would like Chloe to ask Harry, let me know and I'll see if I can accommodate them._


	7. Interview

**AN:** _My longest chapter so far. Enjoy and make sure to read my author note at the bottom of the chapter._

**Chapter 7 - Interview**

After returning from Metropolis Harry spent several hours Harry finished storing and tidying his purchases. He'd bought several dozen books that had caught his interest, both fictional and factual. One of the rooms upstairs he'd set up as a study now had its walls lined with books as well as his computer to keep update on MI's progress. He had also bought a large selection of DVD's and computer games. He'd always wanted to play on Dudley's games consoles when he was young and watching TV had always been a desire of his. It hadn't been until he was 17 that he truly got a chance to watch and enjoy films.

Hermione had insisted that she show him some that would give him useful ideas with how he could use his new found wandless magic. Most of the films had been science fiction and Harry found himself watching as many as he could that had characters with abilities. The first films he'd been made to watch had been Star Wars, both for his own similarities to the lead character as well as the 'Force' powers. Simulating them quickly became a favourite of Harry's.

The fact that lightning was only used by the big bad guy worried him slightly though.

He was curious about how the interview with Chloe would go. He'd received a phone call earlier in the day by an assistant of Ezekiel Griffis, passing on a message that someone, the location originating at Smallville High, had been researching his name and had made several calls enquiring about him.

Having kept his name and that he was the owner of MI a secret he'd also instructed Griffis to keep track of anyone searching for him. Fir safety reasons he wanted to wait at least a year before his involvement became public. By then the European magic world would have hopefully stopped their search for him.

Thankfully the researcher from Smallville High, the person Harry assumed was Chloe, had found very little about him. It just meant that he'd have to be careful with what he said around Chloe. It seemed that she had some good sources and knew how to find information.

He was also slightly wary about them coming into the house. Magic was able to fix and change things incredibly quickly and the house now looked nothing like it had when he had arrived. The fact that Lana owned the house might cause her to be suspicious.

He'd just finished his evening meal when he heard car pull up outside. Looking out the window he saw a small red convertible with three people in the seats. Harry had guessed they would all turn up; Chloe due to her inquisitive nature; Lois due to her protective nature of Chloe. Harry knew that Lana was curious yet wary around him.

The door bell rang and Harry took one last look around to make sure nothing magic related was in sight or in danger of being spotted by an over-curious reporter. He shrunk several MI reports he'd been reading and pocketed them. Deciding that everything was fine he answered the door. "Hi Harry." said Lana with a smile

"Hi," Chloe said brightly as he opened the door. "I'm here for the interview. Lana said it would be ok if we came here."

"Chloe, Lois, Lana, come in." Harry stepped back from the door and waved them in.

They'd only gotten a few steps past the threshold before noticing the changes Harry had made the previous night, "Whoa!" Chloe exclaimed as she took it in. "You have made some _serious _changes to this place."

"You weren't kidding when you said I would hardly recognize this place." said Lana with wide eyes. She looked through the halls no even trying to hide her surprise. The walls were all different colours, the carpets were different. Everything was different. How all this work had been done to her old house without anyone noticing was a complete mystery.

"I decorate quickly. Now, come on." Harry was tempted to offer them a tour but as he'd had one room permanently closed off to anyone but him he didn't want anyone asking questions about it. Harry directed the girls into the room with the fireplace watching them closely. Chloe was looking at every little thing they passed on their way through the house, undoubtedly curious about what sort of things he'd leave lying around. Lana's reaction was obvious as well. Whilst she was looking around in a similar manner to Chloe, Harry could tell she was looking at all the changes made to her old house.

Lois was a surprise though. She looked around warily and Harry had noticed her looking at the exits, something he did when he entered a new environment. It was the sort of thing seen in those that had combat training. He led them through to the lounge.

"These," he said, pointing to the Ravenclaw replica couches he'd conjured. "These are the most comfortable couches you'll ever find." They each took a seat whilst Harry remained standing. He leaned on the back of the couch as he watched them immediately relax in the chairs. There was a good deal of magic in them. They were needed in the Ravenclaw common room as the students tended to get the most stressed out during exam periods. The couch had numerous cushioning and relaxing charms imbedded in it which Harry had cast. The intensity of the relaxing charm increased depending on how stressed you were. It was realized in the second half of Harry's 7th year that those chairs were the _only _thing that could relax Hermione during the chaos that was the N.E., hence Harry spending a lot of time there.

"Oh wow. I have got to get myself one of these." said Lois as she relaxed into the chair.

Harry just laughed, "Ask nicely and I'll find you one. You don't find these in the stores. Now, drinks?" Harry received a positive response. "Right, Chloe and Lana, coffee?" he asked. They both nodded looking quite surprised that he'd just guessed and guessed rightly. "Lois, a beer?" she nodded again with a pleasant smile. Harry knew he was pushing it a bit with the legilimancy, but the feeling of using it was too natural for him. To survive a civil war where anyone could be an enemy, scanning someone's mind became frequent. He also wasn't accustomed to hiding his powers. Back in Britain all his friends and Order members knew that just by looking Harry Potter in the eyes you were potentially giving up a secret. He'd have to be careful and be more subtle in the future. That thought thrilled him.

Harry looked over at Chloe and Lana, "One of you ladies want to give me a hand?" He knew what they wanted in their coffee, but guessing that would be far too suspicious.

"I'll help." said Lana whilst standing up.

Harry was about to walk out of the room but stopped and turned to Chloe who he could tell was itching to have a look at what books he had and the photos on the mantel, "Feel free to look around the room before we get back."

Harry and Lana walked to the kitchen, "So I guess she couldn't resist coming round then?" he said, referring to Chloe.

"No," Lana said with a smile, "When she wants to know something she can be pretty persistent."

Harry smiled, thinking that sounded quite like Hermione, "I had a friend like that. Drove me absolutely mad most of the time but I wouldn't have changed her."

"That was a good guess on the drink by the way." Lana said with a sideways glance.

Harry took down two mugs and boiled the water in the kettle. A subtle heating charm was added to boil it faster. "I told you earlier I'm perceptive." Harry opened the fridge pulling out two bottles of beer. With the door still open he turned to Lana, "You need anything out of here for the coffee?"

"Just the milk please."

Harry passed her the milk and shut the fridge just as the kettle boiled. Harry handed the kettle to Lana letting her make the coffees how she and her friend like it.

They worked in silence whilst making the drinks and walked back through to the lounge. Chloe was looking at the photos above the unlit fireplace. Four pictures sat upon it, the first of his parents, the last photo taken of them before they died. They were outside, holding each other closely, dancing outside at Godric's Hollow. It was his favourite picture of them. There was also a photo of himself, Ron and Hermione sitting by their favourite oak tree by the Black lake after the N.E. had been sat. Harry and Ron both had their arms around Hermione's shoulders. The third was of Sirius and himself at Christmas at Grimmauld Place at Christmas during his 5th. They had their arms around each others shoulders and were smiling at the camera. The last was a 'family portrait' of the Weasleys that had been taken during the summer before his 7th year. The picture included the Weasleys as well as the rest of their family, which included Fleur Weasley, her sister Gabrielle Delacour, Harry and Hermione. The pictures had been charmed not to move.

Harry noticed that Chloe paying slightly more attention to the photo with Sirius and had a good idea as to why.

Harry and Lana placed their drinks down on the coffee table and sat back. "So, three of the most attractive girls I've seen around the school round at my house and I've not even had a full school day yet. That must be a record." He smiled at them and got smiles back although Lois rolled her eyes.

"Don't even think about it." Her tone was light.

He flashed her a grin, "Wouldn't dream of it." Harry saw a bright blue folder also on the table. "Are those the articles?"

"Yeah." she said and pushed the folder across to him. He opened it and skimmed through them. Most were from the Smallville Torch, but there were one or two from the Daily Planet. Harry raised an impressed eyebrow.

"You wrote for 'The Daily Planet'?" he asked with an eyebrow raised. That was technically his newspaper after all. It was also proof to him that she was a good journalist; The Daily Planet was one of the premier world papers. During his stay in New York he'd read it often to get a feel for it and found himself enjoying reading it. Not as much as he enjoyed The Quibbler, but enough. They were nothing like 'The Prophet.'

"A couple of years ago," she said with a dismissive shrug. "I don't anymore."

Harry saw a strange look cross her eyes but couldn't identify it. He stopped himself prying into her memories of what happened and decided to just look it up if he remembered to. He spent another few minutes looking through the articles whilst the girls made small talk. "Well," he said slowly. "From what I've read you're a good, objective writer." He sighed and placed the folder down. She was a good writer from what he could tell. "Ask your questions."

"Thank you." Chloe said with a bright smile. She pulled a notepad from her handbag and a pen. "First question, off the record, how did you know about the drinks?"

"Lana might have said to you that I'm perceptive?" Chloe nodded. Harry shrugged, "I'm just good at seeing these things. It's just instinctive."

Chloe nodded again and was just about to ask her next question when Harry interrupted, "So you know, I won't say anything about my hair or the scars to people other than those I trust. If that ever happens, I'll let you know you, but leave those questions out for now ok?"

Chloe nodded in acceptance as did Lana and Lois. Chloe asked her first question, "Can I ask you about the man in the picture?" she said pointing at the Christmas picture of Harry and Sirius.

"He was my godfather Sirius." Harry watched Lana's eyes widen slightly and exchange worried glance. Lois looked at them oddly. That was confirmation enough for Harry that they knew the story, "You've read about Sirius Black then?"

"Yeah," Chloe said hiding her fear. "They said he caused an explosion that killed 12 people and escaped prison 5 years ago. That's the same man in the picture?"

Harry nodded, "That's Sirius." He watched them look slightly worried and Lois tense slightly. Harry felt that a physical fight with her would prove a challenge and was curious to see if he could hold his own with the little physical combat training he'd received from the Order. "Let me just say first of all, he was innocent of what they charged him for and broke out to protect me." A few curious eyebrows rose. He ran a hand through his hair, "Right, I think I'll need to explain about the night my parents died so that you can understand properly."

Harry cleared his throat and quickly put together a non-magical version of his parents death, "Back in England in the 1970's there was a terrorist by the name of Tom Riddle that was constantly and very subtly attacking the country."

"Tom the terrorist?" Chloe asked in an attempt to lighten the mood slightly.

Harry snorted in amusement, that would have annoyed Tom. It was almost a shame he couldn't call him that. "That was the name he was born with. He renamed himself Voldemort when he started killing. Hated the name Tom though."

"How do you know?" she asked curiously. Harry just shrugged, pointedly ignoring the question.

Harry continued, "Most of the attacks were deemed as accidents for most of what he did. My parents worked with a vigilante group that were trying to stop him. My parents heard that the man and his group were looking specifically for my Dad so they went into hiding. Only two people knew where they were, my godfather Sirius and another friend of theirs called Peter." He took a drink.

"The night before my parents died Peter took their location to Tom and he turned up at the house in the middle of the night. After a bit of commotion that the neighbours heard he killed my dad. He then went to find my mum who'd hidden upstairs. For some reason he wanted me dead as well as my Dad. He asked my Mum to move aside. She refused and then he killed her and was just about to kill me when the police arrived. They stopped him and he was arrested." he took another drink, idly thinking that he needed some _proper_ beer. This stuff was barely drinkable.

The girl's expressions were both mixed with curiosity and horror over what happened. "I was then carried from the house and my godfather turned up. He tried to get them to allow me to go with him but they refused. He decided in the time being he'd find Peter." He paused. "He was going to kill him. He was a good man, but he acted with little thought of the consequence. He cornered Peter, or he thought he did. The little rat had gotten himself some explosives and lay in wait for Sirius. Sirius turned up, the rat blew up the street and vanished. He was arrested, and put away for life."

There was a small uncomfortable silence before Chloe spoke up, "Um, I hope you don't mind me asking, but how do you know all that? I mean, you gave quite a lot of detail." She looked uncomfortable asking the question.

Harry ran a hand through his hair. It was an uncomfortable memory for him, but one that he had put past him to the best of his ability. He had accepted his parent's death. He ran a hand through his greying hair, "I hear it." he said.

Lana choked on her drink. "What?" she said in an almost whisper.

"I hear it." Harry repeated, trying to sound as casual as he could. "Occasionally, when I sleep I hear the entire thing from start to finish. The curse of having a good memory I guess."

They all looked uncomfortable. Lois broke the silence, "Ok, I'm not really good with uncomfortable silences, can we move this on to something a bit more cheerful?"

Harry smiled slightly, "She's right. Whilst I don't mind talking about it, let's find something else. You're a journalist," he indicated to Chloe with a wave of his hand, "Ask things."

"Um, right." she said, "Um, can I just ask why your telling us this? I mean this is all really private stuff."

Harry shrugged, wondering why himself, "This is a small town and I'm the new guy. People are going to ask questions. I'm on the other side of the world and I know, well, nobody really. In places as small as this, secrets don't remain secrets long and to be perfectly honest, I wouldn't mind having friend in the school. So far Lana has been nothing but nice and she trusts you." He scratched the back of his neck trying to stop his rambling and sum up what he was trying to say, "What I'm trying to say is that just now Lana is the closest thing I have to a friend and I know how lying damages these things." He thought back to Dumbledore and the prophecy. He may have worked closely with the man and learned a lot from him, but he never forgave the man for keeping the prophecy from him. People had told him that he would be the new Dumbledore and he hadn't been too pleased with that. He did respect the man, but he was secretive and manipulative. That was something he was striving not to become.

"Lies and deceit damage friendships, and I have no intention of coming to a new place and lying about my past." He shrugged, hoping that what he'd said made sense as well as hoping it didn't make him a hypocrite for keeping his participation in MI a secret.. Whilst he would prefer to just not talk about his past life, if he lied and made up stories now, he was worried that when he did make friends and they found out, they'd desert him. He saw surprised looks on their faces. "That made sense to you girls right?" he asked hesitantly.

In his mind it did. He knew he needed friends. He had no delusions that he could become a dark lord if pushed too far. He had suffered so much and had to endure things people should never have to think about. During his departure from Diagon Alley he could have easily killed the Minister and the vast majority of the Aurors; he'd seriously considered it at the time. He even had a group of people trained to fight that trusted his every word; that had sworn oaths to never betray him. It would be easy. He _needed_ friends; _needed_ people to confide in and to ground him else he could become a serious threat.

"Uh, yeah. It was just surprising to hear is all." Chloe said.

"Right, so questions?"

"Well, um, what can you tell me about the school you went to?"

Harry smiled, "As I said to Lana earlier, the best way to describe it would as an experience. It was a boarding school in Scotland. It was a castle actually. It's one of those, 'we'll find you' schools, not one that you can just apply to. Well, I started there when I was 11. Took a train ride from London to get there and met my friend Ron there. He's the red head in the photo." he said pointing to the mantel.

Lois looked over at the photos and saw the family portrait. "Which one? There has to be almost a dozen of them."

Harry snickered, "The second photo, Lois." he said as he pointed to the one with him and his friends in front of the large tree. "We met on the train and were instantly friends. Talked non-stop the entire ride. The other girl is my friend Hermione. She was the bossy little know-it-all in our year and didn't have any friends to start with. Ron and I found her crying one day a couple months in and from then on we were inseparable."

"Where are they now?" Lana asked.

Harry smiled sadly, "They've both been dead for about a year."

"They're dead?"

"Hmmm." Harry murmured in agreement.

"How… how can you talk about these things so easily?" Lana asked, looking upset for him.

Harry just looked her in the eye for a moment before talking another long drink and finishing his bottle. "Get to know me better and then ask me that question again. I said I don't like secrets and lies. Gain my trust and I'll tell you." Harry looked over to Chloe, "I've had a difficult life. If you read about Sirius you've also most likely read about the Dursleys. They were either going to toughen me up or break me." Harry shrugged, "I've not broken yet."

"The Dursleys?" Lois asked.

"The abusive relatives I was sent to after my parents died. I believe my Uncle still has nine years left on his prison sentence."

"Um, are they any questions I can ask that won't bring up unhappy memories?" Chloe asked hesitantly, not looking as forward to this interview as she had been walking in. Harry felt a bit bad about that.

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the question, but there was no humour in it. He tried to think of some truly happy times he had that he could tell of without mentioning something else horrible happening at the same time or without mentioning magic. The saddest thing was that he couldn't. He had no fond memories of his childhood. Most of his time at Hogwarts was magical related and the happy times could only be explained with an explanation of magic. It was admittedly a depressing thought. He laughed somewhat bitterly, "No. I suppose those instances are few and far between."

The girls looked sad at the answer and Chloe looked to be thinking hard on questions she could ask that were guaranteed to be safe, "So, what kind of things do you do for fun? What do you do in your spare time?"

'_Quidditch' _was he first thought, but knew that he couldn't say that. "I like to run. I've always found that relaxing. Went for a run this morning and haven't enjoyed it that much in years. It was just so peaceful out there. I like riding my motorbike." He grinned at the recent memory. "I landed in New York a week ago and bought my new bike there; drove it all the way here."

"You drove from New York to Kansas on a motorcycle?" Lois asked slightly impressed and yet still giving him a look that said she thought he was mad.

"Yeah. I got my first motorbike from my godfather and I've loved riding it since then. A long drive was just what I was looking for. The bikes fast as well." he said with a grin on his face. He wasn't going to tell them that he drove most of the way at speeds pushing speeds of 170mph.

Harry tried to think of more specific things he enjoyed but just shrugged, "I suppose I just like… normal things you know? Going out with friends, going for a drink, just that sort of thing."

Chloe made a few notes on the paper in front of her, "What made you leave Britain?"

Harry thought about it. He'd been planning, or at least considering leaving the country for two years. "Bad memories and looking to start a new life somewhere else."

"And why did you move to Smallville?" Chloe followed up.

Harry shrugged, "It just caught my eye. When I was moving I wanted to live in a quiet town that was near a large city. Smallville was immediately pointed out to me. Whilst I have no interest in farming… or corn, this was the type of area I'm comfortable in."

Harry pointed over at the picture of the Weasley family, "They lived in what was sort of a farm like area. They grew their own fruit and veg, had chickens, that sort of thing and I always felt at home there."

"When I asked more questions about Smallville I was told that a lot of strange things happen here due to the meteor shower that happened a few years ago. That caught my interest and I put an offer on this house a few days later."

"You know about the weird things that happen here?" a surprised Chloe asked.

"I gather that's not common knowledge?"

"No. It's true, but not many people seem to pay attention to Smallville. I didn't know anyone in the government knew enough to mention it."

Harry though how to answer her question. It wouldn't do to say that a magical government had paid a small amount of attention to the area, "I have money and know some friends in high places. People tend to tell me things." he said with a shrug. It was close enough to the truth.

"So you were interested in the meteor shower?"

"I guess I am. I'm curious at how green rocks from space give people powers. I have a interest in the… paranormal, I suppose you could call it."

"Really?" Chloe asked with a hungry look in her eye that reminded him strongly of Hermione. Lois rolled her eyes.

Harry shrugged again, "Yeah. Had a lot of time to work on my imagination as a kid. Had a dream about a flying motorcycle a few times and that tweaked my interested. Why?"

"I've been investigating the meteors and the meteor-freaks for years and…" Chloe stopped mid-sentence as Harry winced. The lights flickered and thunder roared overheard. "Um…"

Harry paled slightly. _Did I do that?'_ he thought to himself. _'Is that what happens when my control slips? Electricity fluctuates and thunder roars? What the hell is this power?' _"Sorry Chloe. I just don't like that word. Um, you read the article about my loving relatives arrest right?"

Chloe nodded, a weird look on her face that made Harry uncomfortable. "Yeah. Lana and I saw the article."

Lois, not being happy about not knowing what they were talking about asked, "What article?"

Harry spoke before Chloe could, "The article that stated that my aunt and uncle were facing prison time for 15 years worth of abuse and neglect. There was one particular quote in the article that stood out though, "_We were entrusted with the little freak and it was our duty as his guardians to beat the freakishness out of him!" _My uncle said that in front of a court room full of people." He paused for a minute. "He wasn't the smartest man." The fact that he had had a minor compulsion charm to tell the truth placed on him didn't help the man either.

Lois snorted. "What did he mean by 'freakishness'?"

"I suppose another word for it would 'imagination.'" he said after a moment of silence. "He liked everything to be picture perfect normal and I've never really fit his or anyone's description of that." he added, finishing with a small smile.

"You don't mind me asking why they didn't leave you at an orphanage do you?"

Harry smiled at the reluctant question, "No, I don't. There were two things my _relatives_ loved more than anything; normalcy and money. My father's family was somewhat rich so a large monthly sum had been set aside for whoever took care of me in case they died. The £2000 they received a _month_ to look after me was preferable to not having me. But please, can we not talk about them anymore?"

While Harry had been able to accept most of what happened during the war, the Dursleys were still a sore point for him. Once he'd turned 17 and had left Privet Drive he was going to leave them alone. That had changed quickly when he'd visited Gringotts and received his full financial details. It seemed that his parents had set up a direct debit to whomever looked after him. After realizing that the Dursleys had been paid £375,000 to look after him since he had been dumped with them he'd been livid.

Incidentally, that had been the same moment his weak wandless magic ability had fully emerged and it had taken 3 Aurors and 4 Order members to stun him before he could exit Gringotts and apparate to Privet Drive to kill his Aunt and Uncle. Being proficient at dual silent casting was seemingly difficult to defend against.

He had eventually settled on simply ruining the family. He'd bought the majority of the shares from Grunnings, the company his uncle worked for and had him fired publicly for a multitude of reasons, some real, some carefully fabricated. He'd then, with the help of the Weasleys arranged suitable evidence to have the Dursleys arrested for child abuse.

He'd gotten very drunk the night of Vernon and Petunia's conviction.

There were nods all around. Harry saw that everyone had finished their drinks. "Anything more to drink?" The girls nodded and Harry stood up. "The same again?"

Chloe and Lois nodded. "Could I have a beer?" Lana asked.

Harry nodded and walked through to the kitchen. He was curious and slightly worried about Lana. She'd been really quiet since she arrived at the house. He tried thinking why that was. He was slightly worried that he'd freaked her out completely. He'd seen the worried look in her eyes as they talked about their tattoo's earlier. She was obviously freaked out by her tattoo and Harry turning up with something similar a few days after she came back from Paris obviously worried her. He'd then talked about little else than his depressing life.

He sighed. Stepping into the kitchen he absently waved his left hand and the cupboard opened pulling out a new mug. At the same time the kettle began to boil. With a wave of his right hand the fridge opened itself and 3 bottles and a carton of milk came out. Continuing with just waving his hand around and sorting the drinks he thought more on why he was being so open with these three strangers.

At Hogwarts he'd always had trouble making friends, mostly due to his status as the Boy-who-lived. Also due to his constant misfortune such as being named the heir of Slytherin in his second year, the 4th Hogwarts champion in his 4th year, an attention seeking mentally unstable liar in his 5th year, and being trained by the best of the best in order to survive and not actually attending classes in his 6th and 7th year. He'd had a small amount of bad luck becoming friends with those other than the ones he'd made before the chaos had started. Sure, he had some friends in the D.A and Neville got a bit closer to him when Ron and Hermione died, but he was more or less limited to Ron and Hermione.

Now though, he had a fresh new start where he wanted to start over and make friends and hopefully be. He also didn't want to have to lie constantly despite knowing that he probably would have to. He rubbed his eyes. So far he liked the three girls and could tell that they were loyal to their friends. He looked up at the kitchen unit and saw that the four drinks were prepared and the kitchen tidied. He conjured a tray and carried the drinks back through.

Harry saw the girls stop talking as he walked back into the room. He handed the drinks out and sat back down. He addressed Lana, trying to get her back to talking, "So I've been around the town today and I'm curious, what exactly do you do for fun around here?"

"Well, there's the Talon." Lana said. From her tone of voice Harry guessed that there wasn't _that_ much to do in the town.

"The Talon? That's on main street isn't it? A cinema or something, right?" He paused for a second, recalling what he'd seen of it, "Wasn't that closed down?"

Lana nodded, "Yeah, but it's opening up again soon. It's a coffee shop where a lot of students go to relax and it shows old movies at weekends. I use to be part owner and manager of it."

"Really?" Harry asked.

"Yeah." Harry was happy to see that she was smiling and talking again. "It had been closed for a few years and my Aunt Nell was going to sell it. It was going to be turned in a parking garage. I managed to save it from being knocked down and I ran it for a few years afterwards." Harry could easily tell she was proud of it.

"So it's worth checking out then?"

"Yeah, it is." she said with a smile.

Harry nodded, "I'll give it a look when it opens then."

Chloe made a few notes on the paper in front of her, "What do you want to do when you leave school?"

Harry shrugged, not wanting to speak about Marauder Industries until he had to, "Not sure." Harry answered, lying. "I think I'll just wait and see what catches my eye." He decided a bit of truth wouldn't hurt either, "I use to want to be a detective. My friends use to say that I have a saving people thing."

"You have a saving people thing?" Chloe asked with a smile.

Harry nodded.

"Sounds like Clark." Lana said quietly.

"Clark?" Harry questioned.

"He lives in the yellow farm house near here. He's always around saving the day." Lana said with a hint of admiration. Lois rolled her eyes.

"Please," she said in a slightly exasperated tone. "Smallville is not that special."

Confused as to how the conversation had gone from his next door neighbour to the town he looked towards Chloe, "Um, what?"

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Lois has taken to calling Clark Kent, 'Smallville'."

Harry turned to Lois. She explained, "He has an unhealthy obsession with plaid. He is the stereotypical farm boy."

Harry smiled in amusement, "So he's the town hero then?" He asked.

"Something like that." Chloe agreed.

"Does this town need a hero that often?" Harry asked. Arthur Jones hadn't mentioned anything about a crime rate, but he was beginning to think this town's might be quite high.

Chloe shrugged, "There are a few incidences with the meteor-f… infected," she amended, remembering Harry's previous reaction to the word, as well as the thunder that followed. "But it doesn't happen that often."

Harry just nodded, not really wanting to know but suspecting that he'd no doubt find out soon.

"Lana said that you mentioned being in several news articles, but when I looked I couldn't find anything about you." Chloe said, continuing the interview.

Harry smiled slightly. He'd been lucky that the Dursley article had never mentioned him by name. He also wasn't surprised that Chloe had found nothing on him, seeing as every article would have had him named as a Potter and there was very little chance someone with a search engine could find them, "It is true, but I'm not surprised you found nothing. You just need to know where to look."

"Any hints?" Chloe asked with a smile.

Harry smiled back, "And where would the fun be in that? I would be far more impressed if you found it yourself. Don't get your hopes up though." Harry caught a look in her eye that took his words as a challenge and wouldn't stop until she found it. He knew she'd look and he knew she'd fail. After all, he paid people to keep his identity a secret and they were aware of both his names.

The look in her eyes reminded him painfully of Hermione.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(20 minutes later – The Talon)_

Chloe, Lana and Lois sat back in Lana's apartment above the Talon 20 minutes later after leaving Harry's. In the car ride back they'd talked about nothing in particular, silently agreeing to discuss Harry when they got back.

And so 20 minutes later, each with a mug of coffee in hand, they just waited for someone to start. Having no taste for long silences Lois spoke, "So what do you think of him?" she asked lightly.

Chloe considered it for a moment. "He's nice, but there is definitely something strange about him."

"I know," Lana agreed. "The house was completely different than it was when the Conroy's lived there. There is no way he could have made all those changes without anyone noticing."

"Was the house really that different?" Lois asked, never having seen the house before.

Chloe and Lana both nodded. "The walls had all been painted, the carpets were different, the furniture was different; I don't even think I would have recognized the place had I not walked through the front door. I don't think it's possible to do that much work without _anyone_ noticing." Lana said.

"Really?"

Chloe nodded, "It _was_ completely different." She paused for a moment a carefully considered her next question, "Did anyone notice what happened when I said 'freak'?"

"How he flinched?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, but did you notice when he flinched that the lights flickered followed by the crack of thunder?" Chloe asked, trying to get her friend and cousin to see what she could see.

Lana caught on first, "You think _he_ did that?"

"Yes." Chloe said, pleased that Lana had caught on. "I checked when we got outside, it's a clear sky. There is _no_ _way_ that was normal thunder."

"What if it _wasn't _thunder Chlo?" Lois asked her cousin. "What if it was just a car backfiring or a gunshot? Practically everyone in this town as a gun of some sort. And anyway, he said 'freak' a few times by himself without the fanfare."

Chloe raised a disbelieving eyebrow, "Come on Lois! There is no way that loud rumble was anything other than thunder. And he only flinched when the word caught him off guard."

"Chloe, he said he'd never been in Smallville before. There's no way he could have been infected by the meteors."

Chloe frowned at the obvious flaw in her theory, "Do you think he might have lied?"

Lana thought about it, "No," she said slowly. "I don't think he was. He told us a lot of really private stuff today. I don't think he'd lie about being here before."

Chloe nodded thinking that that made sense, "Well, I suppose he could have been infected by something else. You said something was calling to him in Smallville and that was why he came here and he said that he knew people had powers here. Maybe he came here to see if he could find someone like himself?"

Lana thought about it. "That would make sense I guess." She paused for a second. "What do you think he can do?"

Chloe shrugged, "I don't know. Maybe he can control the weather or maybe even just thunder." She paused, remembering something else. "The way he guessed our drinks without evening pausing struck me as odd as well."

"Wait," Lois said. "You really think that this guy can control the weather _and_ read minds?"

Chloe shrugged again, "It was just a guess. All I'm saying is that there is definitely something wall-of-weird about him."

Lana nodded but was still unsure.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After the girls left his house Harry sat staring at the fire for a long time. He'd surprised himself with just how much he'd told them. He just hoped that he hadn't freaked them out too much. What else had concerned him was what happened when Chloe had said '_freak'_ and taken him by surprise. The lights had flickered and he knew it had been the crack of thunder he heard. Had that really been him?

Deciding he needed to know before it happened again he apparated without standing up and found himself in his back garden. He looked up at the sky. Despite it being almost completely dark he could see no clouds in the sky. He stared upwards for a few moments trying to work what to do to repeat the effects. He closed his eyes and thought hard about his time with the Dursleys, his time fighting Voldemort and his hatred towards the man. He thought of his friends death's and how that had effected him.

He stumbled backwards as thunder roared again. He looked up in time to see forked lightning cut the night sky. He stared in awe and tried again, this time keeping his eyes open. After a few seconds he felt a surge of power ran through him, similar to that he used when 'bolting' but still noticeable different. Thunder roared and Harry smirked in triumph. He willed lightning to flash again and it did. Elated at his quick success he occluded his mind, banishing the thoughts he used to the back of his consciousness.

He thought about the feeling of power he'd felt moments ago, and without the emotional thoughts that allowed him to do so before. He felt the power and thought of lightning. It streaked across the sky. He thought of thunder and it roared. He punched the air in triumph and was taken by surprise as lightning raced down from the heavens and struck his raised hand.

He looked at his still raised hand stared in shock. It hadn't transported him anywhere. He felt his legs beginning to heat up and looked down to see the grass around him on fire. He jumped back, putting out the flames with a wave of his hand. He stared at his hand as thought he'd never seen it before. _'I just brought down lightning and it didn't move me. Why?' _Harry thought to himself. He was also surprised to see that his hair and clothing had been in no way affected, even though the ground around him was burnt to a crisp.

On a whim he punched his right arm forward, fist closed towards a lone tree in the back of his garden and focused. There was a crack of electricity and from the heavens another lightning bolt skewered the tree, splitting it in half and setting it on fire. Shocked almost to the point of catatonia that it had actually worked, Harry stood and watched the tree burn for a minute before coming to his senses and Apparating towards it and putting out the fire.

He looked at the ruined tree and smirked. _'This is cool,' _he thought as he apparated back inside.

_(Thursday October 14__th__ 2004)_

Harry arrived at the school to similar looks as he did the day before. Ignoring them once again he dismounted his bike, secured it and walked towards the front the entrance where Lana was waiting drinking from a carry-out coffee cup. "Morning Harry." she said with a smile.

"Morning Lana." he said returning smile. Whilst most students were still half asleep or drinking coffee to _remain_ awake Harry, after a 2 hour mind rest and a half hour morning run was wide awake.

"What classes do you have today?" she asked, dropping her finished coffee cup from the Talon into a bin.

Harry handed over his time table whilst casually glancing around them doing a routine threat assessment that consisted of light legilimancy similar to what he used on Lana the previous day. Finding nothing particular threatening he shifted his look back to Lana, "How does it look?"

"You've got all the same classes as I do except you have all of Wednesday off."

Harry frowned at his timetable. He wasn't especially paranoid, but even he was beginning to see something very off about being here. Everything was just fitting neatly and Lana appeared to be there for most of it. From moving to a school that was Gryffindor colours with a Ravenclaw mascot, to moving into Lana's old house, Lana having a magical tattoo and then having her be his mentor. Harry was beginning to wonder if coming here had been the best thing for him to do or if it had already been predetermined like the rest of his life had most likely been.

"I'll meet you in class. I just need to drop my books off in my locker."

"You know the way to Lit class?" Harry nodded having memorized the schools layout already. "See you in class then."

Harry nodded and walked towards his locker. Whilst his bag could easily hold all of his books and feel weightless at the same time it would be far too suspicious. Using his locker made sense. He placed the books he knew he wouldn't need away and shut his locker.

"Hi, you must be the new guy." said a voice from his left. He turned to the speaker. The guy looked a bit older than he was and was wearing a red and black long sleeved plaid shirt. Harry was reasonably sure who he was. He was a few inches taller than Harry with dark black hair that fell to the bottom of his neck. He held out his hand, "I'm Clark."

Harry shook hands with Clark and realized that this was obviously who the girls had mentioned yesterday. The boy had a very strong grip. "Harry Evans. You're Clark _Kent_ right?" Harry asked making sure he was his neighbour.

"Yeah," he said with a slightly confused expression on his face, "How did you know?"

"Lana Lang. She's my mentor for the week and mentioned that we were neighbours."

His eyebrows rose, "You moved into Lana's old house?"

Harry nodded. Continuing his mind probe on the students of the school he sent out a light probe whilst making eye contact with Clark. To his surprise he found absolutely nothing. He pushed harder and immediately regretted doing so when the moment he pushed too far it felt as though someone had smashed him in the head with a bludger. He winced at the pain and immediately broke eye-contact.

"Are you alright?" Clark asked. Harry could hear genuine concern in his voice.

Harry waved him off and rubbed the side of his head subtly using some basic healing spells, "I'm fine. Just a headache; happens sometimes. It'll be gone in a second."

Clark nodded in acceptance although still looked concerned. Harry relaxed his mind with a simple occlumency exercise and the headache disappeared. He sighed in relief. That had hurt. His curiosity about Clark was definitely spiked though. He'd been in the minds of master occlumens before and not with permission and he hadn't seen defences quite like that before. To have a muggle be able to deflect a legilimens probe quicker and harder than a master occlumens and not notice was a considerable feat. He'd made a mental note to keep an eye on his new neighbour.

"I've got to get to class. Would I be able to stop by later on and introduce myself to your parents?"

Clark nodded, "Sure. I'll let them know."

"Thanks Clark." Harry turned and walked towards class wandering just what secrets Clark's mind was guarding.

**AN: **_I know I've said this a few times now, but this will be the last chapter I post for 2 weeks. Whilst the next chapter is written I'm going on holiday for 2 weeks and won't have access to the internet during that time. I will be back on the 24__th__ and so that's when the next chapter will be. Sorry to those who were enjoying the quick updates. Once I get back I'll be doing that again._

_In the mean time, well, I'm no good at writing newspaper stories and so if anyone wants to attempt to write a story that Chloe has written on Harry, feel free._

_Another thing, what do you suggest I do with MI. What sort of research do you want them to do and how long till it's done. I've got a lot of ideas so far, but the company is big and can manage more than what I've got so far._

_See you again in two weeks._


	8. Neighbours

**AN:** _Despite being out of the country I managed to find an internet connection at an Internet Café and felt it was my duty to post this chapter (It's only a 'filler'…). Thank you Document Manager (Upload)! I struggled writing this chapter. It's my first proper attempt at Lois and the Kent's. The Kent's are surprisingly hard to write a scene with…_

_Enjoy and I'll be back from my holiday soon._

**Chapter 8 – Neighbours**

Harry walked away from Clark to attend class, barely concentrating as he walked through the corridors of the school. His mind was racing and he had no idea what he was even thinking about. Too much was happening since he arrived and it was happening too fast for him to keep up. He stopped for a moment and closed his eyes, banishing all the worrying thoughts from his mind. He'd have to deal with them, but not now.

He entered Literature class. Lana and Chloe were sitting to the far side of the room and Lois was right at the back next to a few empty seats. He made eye contact with her and she nodded to the chair to her left. With the quick look he had of her eyes he could tell she really didn't want to be here.

The teacher made passing mention of Harry and welcomed him to the school. He smiled and shot a small waved once to the class. Thankfully no more attention was drawn to him. "Hey Lois." Harry said as he pulled what he needed from his bag. He'd looked at the blackboard and knew that the memories he'd assimilated had already covered this. At least he could speak with Lois and not worry about missing anything.

"Hey Evans. How's your first day so far?" Lois said shooting a small glare over to the teacher. He glanced back with a look that said they shouldn't be talking. Making sure no one was looking Harry waved his hand in front of his and Lois' desk, casting a notice-me-not charm in front of them. The teacher would know they were there, just not be able to find them or notice them talking. He'd make sure to remove the charm should their teacher actually look for them.

"Nothing has exploded so far, so pretty good." Harry said with a smile. Lois snorted. "And how's your day?" Harry said. He glanced at the teacher. Apparently they'd been told to read and thus he wasn't paying any attention.

"Any day I have to spend here isn't a good day." Lois said.

"You don't enjoy school?" Harry asked conversationally, despite it being obvious from the look on her face.

"I shouldn't even _be _here." Lois said.

"Um, not that I know much about the American education system, but doesn't the law say that you _have_ to go to school?" Harry asked, confused.

Lois looked over to him, realising that the teacher was paying them no attention, "I technically should have graduated last year."

"If we go by age, so should I. What happened?"

She smiled sheepishly at him, "I sort of failed my last semester and Met U pulled my acceptance."

"Ah," Harry said. "Considering I didn't even go to school last year, you're already ahead of me."

"You didn't go to school last year?" Lois asked curiously.

Harry nodded, "Had a bad year. What went wrong during your last semester?" Harry asked, looking to change the subject.

"Never really been all that interested in High School. I skipped a few classes and probably could have paid a bit more attention."

Harry smiled slightly, "My friend Ron was like that. He'd have spent every moment of school doing the best he could to not do any work. Luckily for him the smartest girl in our year was a good friend of his and she would never have allowed him to slack off too much."

"Those are your friends from the photo?" Lois asked, her voice softening slightly. Harry nodded, it was difficult to think about them but the random happy memories he occasionally came up with helped somewhat. At least for now.

"I'm sorry to hear what happened to them." She said kindly.

Harry closed his eyes for a moment and occluded his mind of negative thoughts, "Thanks." He said letting out a breath. "So," Harry said, indicating a subject change. "You've now got to spend another year at school? That can't be much fun." Despite wanting to go to school, Harry knew Lois' type when it came to education. Ron had been the same.

Lois scoffed, "A year? Not if I have anything to say about it. I only need a few more credits and then I'm out of this town."

"That's why you're working with your cousin in the school newspaper then?" Harry guessed. If she didn't want to be here then she wouldn't be doing extracurricular work unless it got her out faster.

"Yeah. Well, it was to start with but then I wrote an article a few days ago and actually enjoyed it."

Harry sighed and rolled his eyes. He gave her a lopsided smile, "So you _are_ a reporter by choice. And here I was starting to like you."

She rolled her eyes at him again, "It's not that bad when you start writing."

"All reporters are evil." Harry told her confidently.

"And my cousin?" Lois asked, amused.

"Guilty until proven innocent." Harry said with a convinced nod and a straight face.

Lois laughed, "If reporters are so evil then why give her an interview?"

"She's being put on trial. The verdict is still standing." Harry said with a smile. "She didn't seem the evil type, but we'll see."

Lois smiled back, "Oh, so you know, my cousin's got some whack-job idea in her head that you can read minds and create thunder." She rolled her eyes, clearly disbelieving what her cousin though.

Harry almost chocked on his own spit. Almost. Someone was suspicious of him already? He'd only been here two bloody days! Whilst he'd been elated at what he'd discovered the previous night he knew he couldn't do that again around Smallville. It really was unsubtle. Luckily Lois missed the look of surprise on his face due to turning back towards the teacher in case he looked up. Harry caught the look of surprise on her face when he paid no attention to them.

"She thinks I have super powers?" he asked with a disbelieving smile. "What gave her that idea?"

Lois shrugged and rolled her eyes, "Chloe thinks you can read minds from the way you guessed the drinks." She shook her head. "That was a cool trick by the way."

Harry was amazed. Whilst the guess was wrong in the sense that legilimancy was not mind reading, she'd picked up the moment he'd used it on her. He'd have to be more careful around her. He could image the stories Chloe Sullivan would find should she have the ability to turn into a beetle like Rita Skeeter. Nowhere would be safe.

"And the _controlling thunder _part?" Harry said, trying to express just how much he disbelieved Chloe's theory.

"I'm sure you heard the storm that started after we left?" Harry nodded, clearly remembering creating the storm. "Somehow she thinks you caused that."

Harry laughed, smiling despite the topic of conversation. Chloe must have seen some really weird things in her time at Smallville if she was able to come to such a conclusion so quickly. The fact that she was right staggered him. "She thinks _I _caused that storm?"

Lois nodded, looking slightly exasperated, "I don't know how she came up with it but that's what she thinks. She has all the outlandish theories on how meteor rocks give people powers. Please!"

"You don't believe in that stuff?" Harry asked.

"The paranormal and all that? Sure, I've seen some weird things, but space rocks giving people powers, no." Lois said.

"Fair enough." Harry said, delving no further into it. "So, you know a bit about me, what's there to know about Lois Lane?"

"What do you want to know?" she asked, glancing at the front of the room making sure the teacher hadn't noticed them talking. He had not.

"Oh I don't know. Your parents, childhood, hobbies, that sort of thing." Harry said, wanting to know more about the girl.

"Well, I'm a military brat." Lois said.

"A what?" Harry asked, confused having never heard of that term before.

Lois looked at him strangely, "My dad's a General in the military. It means I grew up in and around the bases." Harry nodded in understanding.

"And your mum?" She seemed to consider something for a moment.

"My mom died when I saw six." She said.

"I'm sorry to hear that." Harry said. He guessed that she'd only mentioned that to him because of him telling the truth about his parent's death the night before.

"Yeah, well. I have a sister, she's off at one of Europe's most prestigious boarding school in Switzerland." Harry could tell she was proud of her sister.

"How come she got sent to boarding school and you didn't?" Harry asked. From his experience at Hogwarts siblings tended to go to the same school.

Lois shrugged, "She's brilliant and I, well, I was never one for school."

Harry nodded, remembering she'd said the same before. "So what about your childhood?"

"We moved around a lot you know. I went where ever the General did."

"That must have been interesting." Harry said diplomatically. Realistically, whilst he didn't think that'd be the best environment for a child growing up, it was infinitely better than his.

"Kinda. Met all kinds of people and picked up some interesting skills. It was fun you know." Lois said. Harry could tell there was a small lie there but he couldn't quite work out what it was. He just nodded.

"So what do you do for fun then?" Harry asked, glancing over at the class. No one was paying any attention to the back of the class.

"Oh, you know, normal things, video games, music, working out. That sort of thing."

Harry just nodded, having very little knowledge of video games or music and having suspected the working out thing. That fact was obvious. Whilst she was extremely pretty, she was physically fit as well. A look into her eyes showed that she knew several different types of martial arts. He winced a little at the thought of the music and video games, he was a teenager, he _should _know these things, "Well, I can say that I have no knowledge about the first two, but if you ever need a sparring partner I could use some practice."

She looked at Harry curiously for a moment. "Thanks." She paused again, "Are you _sure_ you can't read minds?"

Harry just laughed off the comment, "Quite sure," Harry said, answering truthfully. "So where abouts do you stay?"

Lois looked at him curiously. "What?" Harry asked.

"You're not planning on stalking me are you?" she asked with a searching look.

Harry laughed quietly, "No, just curious."

She smiled, amused, "I'm staying at the Kent farm just now. You know, the yellow house near yours."

Harry nodded, "I ran into Clark in the hall before class."

"You ran into Smallville?"

Harry nodded again, "Seemed nice."

She looked at Harry doubtfully, "If your into that whole farm boy thing I suppose."

Harry smiled, knowing that she did like him. "I'm going over there some time this evening to introduce myself to them."

"Oh, well, the Kent's are cool. You'll be welcome there. I know I was, am." Lois said with a smile.

"Even Clark?" Harry questioned with a teasing smile.

Lois just rolled her eyes, "I still can't work out how Smallville turned out the way he did with parents as cool as his."

Harry just rolled his eyes at her over-acting. Knowing that they'd paid no attention to the class so far Harry turned back towards the teacher and removed the notice-me-not charm.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry walked out of class with Lois, chatting about nothing in particular when Lana and Chloe caught up them. "Hi Harry. What did you think of your first class?" Lana asked.

Harry smiled at her, "We'd already covered that subject before so I may have spent more time talking with Lois than I did actually listening."

The two of them smiled, "It must be difficult starting over at new school so late on." Chloe said as they continued on to their next class.

Harry shook his head, "Not so much. It's stranger going to a school like this instead of boarding school in a castle." He looked around at the red and gold lockers. "I'm use to seeing hundred year old paintings and suits of armour at every corner." They stopped outside Lana and Chloe's lockers. "Seems strange not to see them anymore." The change of scenery really was odd, but it helped remind him that he was in a completely different environment now. He was glad to know that there was nothing castle like in the immediate area.

Other than Luthor Manor though. How a Scottish castle made it to this town was beyond him. It also didn't help resolve the sinking feeling he had he was pre-destined to come to this town. He had no doubt he'd get a tour of the place once Lex Luthor found out who owned MI.

They moved away from the lockers and Harry decided for the moment to just follow Lana. They had the same schedule after all.

"Do you miss it?" Lana asked.

Harry thought about it. He did somewhat miss Hogwarts but whilst most of his good memories were there, a good portion of his bad ones were as well. "Somewhat, even though I'm glad not to be there anymore." He pulled his timetable out from his back pocket, checking what class he had next. Maths. Well, maybe he'd find someone to talk to there.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The rest of the day went well for Harry. Unfortunately he didn't have anyone to talk to and therefore had to listen and participate in class. He was beginning to regret coming back to school, or at least taking the entire year's knowledge before hand. Whilst he felt he'd made friends with Lana, Chloe and Lois and reasoned that it would have taken longer to do that outside of school, it was a mistake to be here. He'd actually spent the last class of the day hoping something would explode and that there would be some sort of excitement and something for him to do. It worried him that he was now almost looking for trouble; before, it had always just found him.

The students of the school had been welcoming for the most part as well. Most seemed genuinely interested in him. During the day he'd had his motorcycle commented on by at least six guys, three of whom wore matching red and gold jumpers. Harry now knew that those meant that they were football players.

The reaction from the cheerleaders had been mixed as well. Some, most, Harry noticed found him to be the tall dark mysterious stranger. Given the scar that cut through his eye and his British accent, they apparently found him quite attractive. Harry was still trying to work out what the big deal was with his Surrey accent. It was hardly anything special or classically British. The rest of the cheerleaders saw the scar on his face, arms and his grey hair and decided that they didn't want anything to do with him. That was fine.

The topic of his hair had also been one of the most asked questions of the day as well. Whilst dying it completely black would take seconds for him with magic, he couldn't _quite _answer the questions on why he kept it streaked with grey. The closest he got was the thought that it suited who he was, an old weary man in a young body. Maybe he'd dye it eventually.

All in all, whilst his day had been more positive than negative he was glad to get home. He arrived back home and pulled out his homework. He hadn't actually had to do anything like this since the beginning of his 6th year and endeavoured to do it immediately. It was a little something he could do to honour Hermione's memory.

He was half-way through his last piece of homework, an essay for Lit class that he was writing from memory when his mobile phone rang. He pulled out his PDA and noticed it was Ezekiel Griffis calling him. "Zeke, what can I do for you?" Harry answered.

"Nothing Harry, nothing. Just an update. How's Smallville?" Zeke answered good naturedly. Harry had liked the man at first meeting. Whilst he was having his finances organised the name of an up and coming businessman who had knowledge of both worlds was pointed out to him. Whilst only 27 years old Griffis was extremely smart, in both magical and non-magical knowledge. Despite being relatively weak from a magical stand point, he had mastered Occlumency early on and had done his best to gain as much knowledge as he could.

Harry had met him and discussed what he wanted to do and what he owned and the man had give Harry permission to use legilimancy and veritaserum on him. Harry had refused to use the truth serum but used legilimancy. Whilst a skilled occlumens was able to completely masked having their mental shields down, Harry knew enough of legilimancy to search through his memories and find out what sort of man Ezekiel Griffis was. Harry had decided then and there that he wanted this man to run Marauder Industries. With an oath to work in the best interest of the company and not to betray him, Zeke was hired and basically told to do what he wanted, letting Harry know of big decisions the company would make. Zeke was also one of the few that knew who he really was.

"Smallville's fine. I'm beginning to regret entering school again though." Harry said. He pulled a note pad out from his school bag, ready to take notes of anything that was note worthy.

Zeke laughed, "Did I not tell you to assimilate all the knowledge you need and then run this place yourself?"

Harry rolled his eyes. Zeke had been someone that had used Pensive Learning to its fullest extent and had taken everything that could be of use to him some day. He'd advised Harry against entering his senior year, but Harry had wanted a fresh start with people his own age and ignored it. "You did, but I still don't think running the company just now would be good for me. It's safer in your hands until everything's up and running. How is MI anyway?"

"Things are running smoothly and progressing quickly." Zeke answered confidently.

"Good," Harry muttered, pleased. "What do you need me for then?"

"Nothing Harry, just keeping you up to date." Zeke said. Harry picked up his pen. "First of all, the renovation of the Metropolis headquarters are almost finished. Everyone's moved in and everything's up and running."

"What's left to do?"

"Your office and the penthouse you requested on the top two floors. They all need sorted."

Harry thought about it for a minute. Neither were a priority for him just now. "Organise my office similarly to how yours is done. Make it dark colours… blues and greys." Harry said. "For the penthouse, just close it off for now. When I come by properly for the first time I'll see to it."

"Very well Harry. When _do _you think that will be?"

Harry shrugged before realising that Zeke couldn't see that response. He considered his answer, "Next year probably, when everything's running smoothly."

Zeke hummed in acknowledgement, "Now, the reason I called. There's been a lot of interest into just who is behind the scenes of MI."

"Who's been looking?" Harry asked.

"The big corporations mostly; Wayne, Queen, Luthor and Swann. We know Luthor has already gotten your name, but we're unsure on the others."

"It was only a matter of time. It's no problem." Harry said. He was only hoping his name remained out of the press until he graduated. Hopefully his name wouldn't spread. It did however mean that he could expect to be contacted by Lex Luthor soon. He did stay in the same town as the man after all.

Zeke hummed in agreement. "Anything else you need my input with?" Harry asked.

"Nothing Harry." Zeke said.

"Alright, take care of my company Zeke and keep me posted." Harry said with a smile.

"Will do." he said and the line went dead. Harry placed the phone back down of the table. He looked at his half written essay, sighed and got back to work.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Later that evening, having finished his homework and eaten his evening meal, Harry found himself driving the mile distance to the Kent farm to meet his neighbours. He past the large red barn and parked just beside the red pickup truck that sat outside the medium sized yellow house. He dismount the bike and walked calmly to the front door. Having seen how Clark responded to his headache earlier in the day, he was certain the family would be a nice one.

He caught sight of movement inside the house. He tucked in a small piece of the black dress shirt he was wearing back into his jeans and knocked on the door. It was answered in moments by a woman, Harry guessed her to be mid 40's, with long dark red hair and a pleasant smile. "Can I help you?" she asked politely.

"I'm Harry Evan's. I just moved in nearby. Clark said it would be alright if I came by and introduced myself."

A look of recognition crossed her face and Harry caught a glimpse of two memories, one of Clark and one of Lois mentioning that he said he'd be over. "Of course, come in." She said immediately when she recognised who he was, although her eyes lingered on his scar for a split second.

Harry smiled and followed her into the first room. He walked into the house and was hit with quite a strong feeling of déjà vu as he looked around. Whilst it was infinitely neater and better put together, it had the same feeling the Burrow had; warm, inviting, taken care of but from a family that didn't have too much money. He smiled as he looked around. The first room in the house was the kitchen. A man that Harry knew from first glance was the father of the family was in the kitchen taking a beer for the refrigerator.

"Jonathan," she said. The man turned around. "This is Harry Evans, the boy that moved into Lana's old house." The man placed his beer on the counter and held out a hand. Harry shook it.

"It's good to meet you. I'm Jonathan Kent and this is my wife Martha."

"It's nice to meet you both." Harry said, looking around. "Your son said it would be alright if I came by and introduced myself?"

"Of course." Martha Kent said without hesitation. "Are you staying or do you have somewhere to be?" she asked.

"I have nothing planned." Harry said evenly.

"Would you like a drink?" Mrs. Kent asked.

"Water, please." Harry answered. Whilst he would normally drink tea he'd heard all sorts of horror stories about how the American's had their tea.

"Take a seat." Mr. Kent offered, pointing at a chair at the table.

"Thank you." Harry said as he uneasily pulled out a chair. It was the one offered to him but it meant sitting with his back to the door, something he tried to avoid whenever possible.

Mrs. Kent put a glass of water in front of him and sat down, "Well, Clark and Lois told us almost nothing about you. Did you just move here?"

He nodded, "This has been my… third day I suppose."

"What do you think Smallville so far?" Mr. Kent asked.

"It's a beautiful town and everyone's been extremely nice. I think I've been pretty lucky so far."

"Clark mentioned that you're from England?" Mrs. Kent asked.

"Born in Wales, relocated to England and went to school in Scotland." Harry said.

"Relocated?" Mr. Kent asked.

Harry nodded and took a drink, "My parents died when I was 15 months old. I was sent to live with my Aunt and Uncle afterwards."

"I'm so sorry to hear that." Mrs. Kent said. Harry was surprised with just how sincere she was when she spoke and he could feel the sadness coming from both of them that a child had to suffer that.

"Thank you." Harry said respectively. Harry turned quickly at the sound of a door opening behind him.

"Mom, Dad, I heard a bike outside, is that…" he trailed off as he walked into the kitchen and saw Harry. "Oh, hi Harry."

"Clark." Harry said with a nod. He'd spent a bit more time with him during lunch period where Lana had invited him to sit with her, Clark, Chloe and Lois. He'd gotten to know them slightly better but it still as though he was being ganged up on just now.

"Ah, son." Mr. Kent said. "We were just talking with Harry. Where's Lois?"

Clark rolled his eyes, "She's _still_ on the phone trying to get into Met U." Mr. Kent chuckled lightly and Mrs. Kent smiled.

Clark smiled at Harry and sat down at the table, "What did you think of your first day at Smallville High?" Clark asked

"Was good," Harry said. "Thanks for letting me sit with you lot at lunch."

Clark brushed away the thanks, "It was nothing."

"So Harry," Mrs. Kent said. "Did you move here with your Aunt and Uncle?"

Harry could see Clark make a slightly pained face, already knowledgeable with the situation. "No, just me. My Aunt and Uncle were… they had obligations they couldn't quite get out of." He answered. He hated telling people about them. People always looked at you differently when they knew you were neglected and abused. Clark coughed uncomfortably beside him. He saw the look the Kent's gave their son, it was one that said they'd ask later.

"So you moved by yourself then?" Mr. Kent asked. "So tell us about yourself then."

**OoOoOoOoO**

His conversation with the Kent's had continued for slightly less than hour with them just talking before Harry returned home. He found them to be genuinely nice people and was pleased to have them as neighbours. He'd been touched when both Mr. and Mrs. Kent had said if he ever needed help with something, anything, that he could come them and they'd do what they could.

After just leaving a world where your best friends could stab you in the back at any second and people were afraid to go outside, this meant quite a lot to Harry, especially since he could tell just how sincere they were. He went home with a smile on his face.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Review and stuff. I like your suggestions and I've already made some changes (albeit minor ones) due to things people have sent me._

_For those that were looking forward to the Ma and Pa Kent bit, sorry it was short._


	9. Amortentia

**AN:** _Here you go…_

**Chapter 9 – Amortentia**

_(Monday October 18__th__ 2004)_

Harry entered the school on Monday morning after having had a good weekend. Whilst he had done very little, the concept was still something that he enjoyed. He'd visited Metropolis again, this time via his bike and explored more thoroughly than he had during his shopping trip the previous week. Whilst he hadn't seen any of his new friends, he just decided to enjoy the silence before he got bored of it.

That silence, if the rumours were true, was broken yesterday. _Apparently_ the Quarterback of the school football team had taken a shotgun to the assistant coach and tried to murder him at school after a practice. No stranger to rumours, Harry had decided to put it aside until he had further proof. After hearing about the 6 man shoot out on the football field he was glad to have just ignored it. It seemed students and rumours where the same, no matter what side of the world he was on.

Shrugging off the thoughts pf gun fights Harry made his way to his locker to get his books for first class. He had seen Lana once already and she'd walked with him for a while and they had talked about how he was doing in the new school. Harry had informed her that he was fine. He did however refrain from telling her that he didn't need any help as he enjoyed what limited time he spent with her.

He took what books he needed from his locker and closed it to find Clark looking through his own locker. "Alright Clark?" he asked seeing his grin.

Clark looked around, "Hey Harry."

"Nice jacket." Harry commented upon seeing the red and gold jumper the other football players wore. Football and its players were practically worshipped in the school Harry had seen. That, mixed with the colours they wore made Harry miss the good old days when he played Quidditch and all his fears and troubles could be forgotten for a few hours.

"Thanks," Clark said with a smile. Harry could tell that he was proud. "I made the football team this morning."

"That's a _good_ thing, right?" Harry asked rhetorically.

Clark nodded and smiled, "Yeah."

"This have something to do with the rumours about a shoot out that seem to be going around here?"

Clark nodded with a serious expression on his face, "One of the players tried to kill Coach Teague this morning in the locker room. I managed to push the coach out of the way before he was hurt."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"Yeah. You ever seen a football game before?"

Harry shook his head, "Hadn't even really heard of the game until I got here."

Clark looked shocked that someone hadn't heard of football before. "You should come to one of our practices and see what you think."

Harry nodded, having considered that already, "Sure."

Further conversation was cut short by the angry tones of Lois Lane walking down the corridor paying no mind to anything other than the person on the other end of her phone, "… not walking the halls of Podunk High." She paused for a moment whilst someone on the other end of the line spoke. "Well, yes, I'm sure that we could work this all out if you could just get him to call me back. Thank you!" She slammed her phone shut and continued walking past Clark and Harry.

"You know," Clark said to the passing Lois. She stopped mid step and he and Clark walked up to her. "If you spent as much time studying as you did trying to leave," she turned around slowly and gave him a look that said unpleasant things for Clark's future. Ignoring them Clark continued, "You'd be in college already."

Lois slowly turned around to face them. Harry kept the smile of his face the best he could. "And where'd you get that pearl of wisdom, the Farmer's Almanac?" Lois asked sarcastically, with a smile that called Clark and idiot without her needing to vocalise it.

Clark just laughed mockingly at Lois. He tugged on his red and gold jersey, pointing it out to Lois, "So, what do you think?"

"They're not really your colours." Lois said with a shake of her head, looking at his clothes disapprovingly. She turned around and continued down the hallway

"I like it." Harry said, stopping her in her tracks again.. She looked towards Harry. He smiled at her. She was the type of person that was just fun to wind up and easily frustrated. From the interaction she'd seen between Lois and Clark, agreeing with Clark would annoy her.

"Well, I wouldn't trust Evans fashion style." She looked at him curiously and mockingly, "Do you _have_ anything in your wardrobe that _isn't _black?" She asked, referring to the fact that he was once again wearing full black, albeit obviously different from the clothes that he wore the day before. She turned around and walked onwards. Harry and Clark followed.

"I have a few things in other dark colours. Primary colours do nothing for me." He replied causally not mentioning the reason he wore dark colours was because his life dictated that he would survive longer if he continued to wear dark colours. He knew that didn't count here, but it wasn't a habit he wanted to break until he felt properly safe.

Lois sighed and turned away with Harry and Clark following behind. "They're the school's colours." Clark said in attempt to defend his now favourite item of clothing.

"I'm glad you made the team, Clark, but why be a conformist? At least with the whole farm boy plaid thing, as lame as it is, it completely belongs to you."

Harry just laughed and looked over at Clark, "_That_ Is a twisted piece of logic."

Clark rolled his eyes at her, "In the future, let's restrict our conversations to 'hello' and 'goodbye.'"

They kept walking. Harry listened half heartedly to the passing conversation, still witnessing the strange behaviour of the other football players.

"I can't believe she even tried out." One of the cheerleaders said to the other.

"I know. Did you see what she was wearing?" the other replied.

"And those thighs? One, two, three…"

"No!" They both responded together and walked off laughing. Harry shuddered at the laugh. It was the same type that his fan girls had used. He was beyond ecstatic that that behaviour wasn't focused on him anymore.

The continued walking and watched a cheerleader empty her locker and put all her books into her boyfriend's waiting arms. Harry, Clark and Lois looked at them oddly. They continued down the corridor, continuously noticing the same pattern repeating; football players, the jocks of the school, waiting hand on foot for their girlfriends, all cheerleaders. The players were showing the almost unmistakeable signs of being under a love potion.

One of the football players looked in Harry's eyes for only a second and Harry dove into his mind looking to see that unmistakeable mother-of-pearl sheen coloured potion that caused whoever drank it to become infatuated with whoever made it. The football player gave Harry a hard look and turned away causing Harry's legilimancy scan to end.

He looked over to Clark and Lois who had certainly noted the weird behaviour. "Now," Harry started slowly, "I may not have been in high school for less that two full days, but that," he pointed to the football players, "Is not normal. Is it?"

"Where are we, some kind of freakish feminist parallel universe?"

"What Lois is trying to say," said Clark after shooting Lois a look, "Is that no, it's not normal."

Harry nodded and the three continued through the corridor. Seeing that Clark and Lois were heading towards the Torch Harry decided to see if he could find anything else in the minds of the other players that might help him, "I'll see you guys later alright?"

"Sure Evans." Lois agreed.

"You coming to watch practice tomorrow?" Clark asked.

"Sure." Harry agreed. With a wave he turned to his left and walked off as Clark and Lois entered the Torch.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Having discover nothing concerning magic, potions or anything odd in the minds of the football players Harry went home and after opening the magically locked room in his home and flicking through some potions books he had packed when he moved. After half an hour he decided that there was a highly slim chance of one being used due to the nature of most requiring some sort of magical ingredient. His only current theory was that someone had _somehow_ found several vials of love potions that a wizard had made and misplaced.

He wasn't confident that this was accurate.

Having reached a dead end at looking into players minds Harry's next plan of investigation was attending one of the training sessions for the team and having said to Clark that he'd attend, it fit in perfectly. Having missed that day's practice, he'd attend the next day's one.

The next had begun strange as well. For one thing, Chloe, who he'd been told practically lived in the Torch had quite, leaving everything up to her disgruntled cousin. Harry felt he didn't know Lois well enough yet to laugh at her expense. She clearly wasn't happy.

There had also been something in their Advanced Lit. class. Lana had been called out of class because Coach Teague had asked for her. Harry wasn't sure anyone else in the class noticed Lana's panicked look as she walked out of class, but he had.

After school ended that day Harry made his way out to the football field. He sat for a while just watching the warm ups and listening to the chanting of the cheerleaders. It wasn't all that interesting. He'd tried to read up on some details of the game that he was still referring to as America Football but had yet to really understand it. The one thing he did know was that it wasn't Quidditch and therefore not as good.

He sat in the stands, watching the team begin their warm ups when he saw a familiar face approaching him, "Good afternoon Lana."

"Hey Harry." Lana said brightly. "Come to watch practice?"

Harry nodded, "Clark invited me to watch and I thought I might understand the game more if I actually saw some of it instead of reading about it."

"You've never seen a game?" Lana asked.

"I've never been much of a sports fan," Harry responded, unable to talk about Quidditch. "And Britain doesn't exactly play this game either. I know it's based on Rugby, but that's all really."

Lana just nodded and sat down to watch. They both sat in silence for 10 minutes; Lana watching the players and Harry switching between watching the players and watching the cheerleaders. Having not had the chance to look the cheerleaders in the eye the day before he wasn't sure of what they were doing, but by the decidedly feral looks in their eyes he knew something was up. Due to the distance he was unable to see their memories, but he'd try another time.

It was 10 minutes after Lana sat down that Clark came running over, removing his helmet as he did. "Hey Harry. Lana?" He asked in confusion. "What are you doing here?"

"I-I heard that Clark Kent was our new starting quarterback, and I had to see it for myself." She responded somewhat awkwardly, something Harry picked up on, but not Clark.

"Really?" Clark asked in surprise. "You came out here to watch me practice? That means a lot."

Lana smiled back awkwardly and was saved from having to say more when the coach called over, "Hey, Kent! Do you want to join us or what?"

Clark looked back over to the coach and then back to Lana and Harry, "I better go."

"Seems like our new assistant coach is working you pretty hard." Lana stated whilst giving a nod over to the coach.

"No, he's, uh, actually pretty cool." Lana nodded in response and Clark turned back towards his impatient coach_._ There was an awkward silence for a second. "I'll see ya."

"See ya."

Harry watched Clark walk off only to be immediately intercepted by Lois. Lana sigh ever so slightly in relief. "So," Harry started, "That had to have been awkward for you."

Lana looked slightly panicked having forgotten Harry was there. "W-What do you mean?"

"You panicked when he asked you why you were here and stuttered when you answered him. You mind me asking who you are here to watch or is that too personal a thing?"

"Um…" Lana started, trying to find a suitable answer. Harry's passive legilimancy caught an image without him trying and he knew then who she was watching. It also explained the scared look in her eyes when it was announced in class that Coach Teague had wanted to see her.

"Ah," he muttered in realisation.

"What?" Lana asked looking nervous.

"I know nothing of nothing and have no idea who you could possibly be watching." Harry said easily.

"Harry…" Lana started again and Harry could tell she was really worried about anyone finding out.

"Hey," Harry said softly snapping her out of whatever she was going to say, "I promise I won't tell anyone." She seemed to believe him and relaxed slightly. "You've been extremely helpful and nice to me since I got here. I wouldn't betray that."

"Thanks Harry." Lana said with a smile.

"What are friends for?" he asked rhetorically and was pleased to see her smile. He turned back towards the practice and almost did a double take, "Lana, is that Chloe in a cheerleader outfit?"

"No," Lana responded instantly before taking a good look at the new, very loud cheerleader, "Chloe wouldn't… um…" she said, trailing off as she looked at her friend. They watched as Chloe spoke with Lois and Clark. After a minute she turned around and ran towards them.

"Hi Harry, hi Lana." Chloe said cheerfully.

Harry shot her a small wave. "Uh, What are you doing?" Lana asked, bemused.

"I'm here to support Clark." Chloe said brightly and if it were the most obvious thing in the world. She turned to Lana and asked with a slight glare, "What are _you_ doing here?"

Harry's mind for odd situations kicked in and realised that Chloe was under the same influence as the football players were. Looking to stave off a fight he spoke before Lana could, "I was curious about football so Lana agreed to show me a practice and explain things to me as they happen." Harry said, making up the lie on the spot.

It obviously appeased Chloe as she smiled again, "Okay." The sound of a whistle blew behind them and Harry watched the team get into their positions. Chloe, obviously realizing that Clark was about to play rushed off to support him.

Harry and Lana watched from the sidelines as Chloe cheered very loudly and badly for Clark who was currently being brutalized by the other players. Harry couldn't help but wince at each tackle. They weren't going easy on him. Lana left soon after the plays started but Harry stayed on for the rest of the practice. He felt sorry for Clark. After what he'd experienced, he'd be feeling it for days.

As Clark was trying to pull himself to his feet the rest of the players walked off the field and the cheerleaders followed, taking the water cooler with them. As the cheerleaders walked past where he was sitting he caught sight in one of their minds and realised what was going on. The cheerleaders were dosing the players when they drank during practice. It certainly seemed fit and as most love potions required the victim to be dosed frequently, it was the perfect time. The only question that remained was _what _they were dosing the players with. Deciding that he couldn't do anything immediately without sounding insane he decided to bring it up with Clark later on. Hopefully, after practically being attacked on the field, he'd listen to him and his theory.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Unfortunately Harry didn't see Clark again during the day and Harry assumed correctly that Clark had gone home due to what he suffered at afternoon practice. It wasn't until later in the evening that Harry decided to drop over at the Kent farm and see if Clark could help him do anything in regards to what the cheerleaders were doing.

He Apparated out of sight behind the large red barn at the Kent farm and was just approach the house when he heard a loud crash come from inside. His combat instincts were immediately on alert and he silently ran around the barn to the nearest entrance.

Upon entering he saw Clark lying flat on his back on the barn floor, obviously in pain. Walking towards him was a man in a grey hoody, with the hood disguising his face. Harry could easily read the intentions of the man and they weren't good. Harry's hand lit up with lightning without even a conscious thought. Resisting the urge to hit the hooded man with several thousand volts of electricity Harry decided to go with a mere over powered stinging hex.

The power of the hex threw the man into one of the support beams for the barn. He looked up and upon spotting Harry standing at the door, turned and ran. Harry just ignored the retreating man and checked on Clark. "Clark?"

"Harry?" Clark asked in surprise and pain.

"Yeah, you alright?" Harry asked in concern. He looked up and down at Clark. With several bruises and a cut forehead he wasn't looking too good. Harry offered Clark his arm and the injured teenager gratefully took a hold and stood up somewhat shakily and still breathing deeply.

Harry looked Clark in the eye and was surprised to see several images of the attack take place as he thought of them. He was confused as to how he was able to see into Clark's mind when he couldn't before, but decided to think about it afterwards. "That was your Coach wasn't it?" Harry asked already knowing the answer. He had caught the fact that the coach had treated Clark harder after he'd spoken with Lana and the coach was obviously dosed with what the players were.

Before Clark could answer they both heard footsteps behind them and turned around. "Lex?" Clark asked in surprise.

A concerned look passed Lex's face as he took in Clark's injuries. "Are you alright?"

Clark nodded, "I'm fine."

Harry almost laughed at the line he so commonly used when injured. Lex turned towards Harry and gave him a curious and searching look. Upon looking into his eyes Harry was surprised to find something akin to natural occlumency shields guarding the bald man's mind. "Who's your friend?"

Clark shook his head trying to clear the cobwebs that had obvious began to settle after his beating and answered Lex, "Lex, this is Harry Evans. Harry, Lex Luthor."

Harry and Lex shook hands. Lex's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Harry knew then that Luthor had put together who he was. "You're the new guy in town?" Lex asked.

"Yeah. News travels fast around here I see."

"Small town." Lex responded with a kind smile.

Harry turned towards Clark, "Clark, I'll just head home. I need to speak with you about something important when you're done with Mr Luthor, alright?"

Clark nodded and Harry turned to leave. "Mr Evans?" Lex called stopping him. "It's just Lex."

Harry nodded and smiled, "And I'm just Harry."

Lex nodded back, "Thanks for helping Clark."

Harry nodded, walking back outside and Apparated back home.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Twenty minutes later Harry spotted a red truck pull up outside. He Apparated to the front door and opened it to see Clark getting out of his truck. He walked down the steps to meet him. "Thanks for coming Clark. I know this is going to sound strange, but I think the cheerleaders are…" Harry paused, looking oddly at Clark who now appeared completely healed. "Didn't you have a cut on your forehead?"

Clark looked quite nervous, "No. It looked worse than it was."

Harry immediately caught the lie, and due to his Omni-lens record function and his talent in occlumency, he easily remembered the bleeding cut above the boy's left eyebrow. Deciding that Clark didn't want him to push the issue he just nodded in agreement.

"Sure, so as I said, this might sound odd, but I think the cheerleaders are spiking the football water cooler with something that screws up whoever drinks it."

"Uh, yeah. I'd just come that conclusion after you turned up." Clark said, looking surprised that someone else had realised.

"So what do we do about this?" Harry asked. He would usually be in his element in such a situation, but he was new and only just beginning to learn the location and the players. From some of the stories he'd heard from Lana and Lois, Clark was just the man for the job.

Clark thought for a moment, "We'll need to go to the school and see if we can find what they're putting in the cooler."

Harry nodded. "You want to drive?"

Clark nodded and they both headed back to Clark's truck. They both remained silent for a few moments. "So, your friends with Lex Luthor?" Harry asked, breaking the silence. It seemed an odd combination to Harry; farm boy and billionaire heir.

Clark thought about the answer, "I use to be."

"Use to be?" Harry questioned.

"It's not really important, alright?"

Harry just nodded, knowing when to take a hint.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry and Clark arrived at the school a few minutes later at the same point that Lois was entering the school. Surprised, they both walked over to her. "Smallville? Evans? What are you two doing here?"

"I'm looking for Coach Teague. He just attacked me in my loft." Clark said in way of a normal greeting.

"After that performance on the field today, I'm not surprised." Lois responded instantly and patted Harry on the shoulder. Clark stopped walking mid step giving her a surprised and slightly hurt look at her comment. Harry smiled slightly, without either of them seeing.

"I'm kidding." Lois said as she realised that Clark had taken her comment seriously.

"Look, the cheerleaders are spiking the water cooler at practice. That's why Chloe and the players are acting so weird." Clark bluntly said.

Lois looked impressed, "Nice work, Smallville. You want to know what they're using?"

"You've found out?" Harry asked, curious to know what was going on quickly.

Lois nodded and steered them towards the Torch office. "You actually did some investigative reporting?" Clark asked in surprised.

Lois gave him a hard look, "My cousin goes Martha Stewart without the jail time? Yeah. Suddenly, the power of the press interests me." She picked up a file from the desk beside her and handed it to Harry and Clark. "Look what I found."

Harry looked over the file. At first glance it was merely a student's science report. Realising that Lois wanted them to actually read it he did, whilst Clark looked back at Lois in confusion, "Mandy and Rhonda did a science fair project together. So?"

"Phenylethylamine." Harry answered absently as he skimmed through.

Clark took the folder and looked at the title, "The love molecule? So, it's a love potion?"

Harry was seriously impressed. Two muggles had accidentally discovered a non-magical version of a love potion. They were either geniuses or, the more likely option of being insanely lucky. How they had gotten it to actually _work _though wasn't written down.

"Exactly, but it didn't work." Lois said, relived to see that everyone was following along with her theory.

"Until they added the meteor rock." Clark muttered to himself, although Harry and Lois heard.

"Whatever." Lois muttered, not understanding why meteor rocks had anything to do with it. Harry just raised an eyebrow, curious, but not asking. Just _what_ were these meteor rocks?

"Thoughts on how to undo this?" Harry asked the room.

Lois shook her head, "None, but it must wear off at some point. Otherwise they wouldn't keep juicing the football players."

Harry nodded, that fit the specifics of numerous weaker love potions.

"We don't have enough time." Clark said. "What if another player goes into a jealous rage and hurts someone?"

An odd look crossed Lois's face, **"**Wait a minute," she said, addressing Clark. "You drank some of it, too. I saw you." She walked past him and missed the look of worry on his face. He turned to her quickly. "How come you're not going all love slave?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at the new piece of information and looked over at Clark who was looking quite uncomfortable. From what he had seen, Clark was more than likely in love with Lana already. Surely he would have been pining after her like the other players were with their girlfriends; after all, their Coach almost killed Clark earlier that night for looking at his girlfriend the wrong way. Did his lack of reaction have anything to do with his comment about the meteor rock content?

"I don't know," Clark said, shrugging off a question he didn't want to answer. "What's your point?"

"That science report's in Mandy's faux Prada bag. Presumably it can tell us how to reverse this, right? And presumably, you're infected." Lois grinned in a way that Fred and George Weasley would be proud of; it was a look that clearly said the recipient would not enjoy what was about to happen next. "The cheerleaders are having a pool party tonight. How do you look in a swimsuit, Clark?" She walked closely to him, invading his personal space

Harry couldn't help but laugh at the horrified expression on Clark's face. Clark gave Harry a slightly betrayed look before looking back to Lois whose smile hadn't dimmed. "No way. I can't do that." Clark said.

Knowing that he could easily get the report himself, but didn't want to risk it, Harry agreed with what he knew Lois had planned, "You think it will work?"

"Yes. It'll be easy." She glanced over a Clark, "_If_ Clark can do his part." she said.

Clark still looked vaguely horrified by the idea, but just squared his shoulders and nodded looking as if a soldier going to war and not expecting to come back.

"Right." Harry said. "You two do that and I'll take a look around, see if I can find any of the formula."

Lois nodded. "Alright, come find us if you get anything."

Harry shot her a salute before walking off, leaving Clark to his fate.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry spent the next 15 minutes just walking around with no destination in mind. He hadn't expected to find any of whatever potion the cheerleaders had been using; that sort of thing wasn't just left lying around. In fact, Harry hadn't looked and had only used the excuse of looking to get out of Lois's plan should she want to include him.

Walking around a school at night wasn't a new experience for Harry, but he still felt it was strange. During his midnight excursions of Hogwarts he was use to doing so invisible, dodging ghosts, caretakers, demented cats and trying to hide from portraits. Here though, everything was dark and silent. Truthfully, it unnerved him more than Hogwarts did.

Assuming that Lois and Clark would have gotten the file they wanted Harry headed towards the Torch office as that was where he assumed they'd be. Finding the door shut Harry turned back towards where the swimming pool was, and thus, the party.

Silently entering the pool room Harry saw one of the blonde cheerleaders who had worked on the science paper walk purposefully into the room from a side entrance and towards a group of football players. Harry couldn't hear what was being said, but from the look on her face it wasn't good.

Realising that Harry and Lois had been caught he carefully walked through the pool room, using what he had learned in stealth and tracking from the Aurors he trained with during his 6th year. With his footsteps silenced and a notice-me-not charm in place, he walked through the pool area, past numerous seniors in multiple forms of undress and through the door the bat wielding football players went moments before.

"Let's get out of here. Come on, Lois." He heard Clark say in the other room. With his charms still in place Harry was now only a few feet behind the players, although still out of sight.

"Bring it on, hotshot." He heard Lois mutter. With a sigh of annoyance Harry removed both charms and prepared himself to intervene; that sort of comment was always followed by violence.

Harry watched as one of the players stepped forward and swung his bat at Lois. She skilfully ducked it and kicked him the stomach and back towards the other players. By then Harry was already moving. "Hey, idiots." He called and he moved towards the players. Having been trained in physical combat as well as magic combat Harry knew he could take the three big guys down without much hassle, but still had no desire to strike them from behind.

They all turned towards the new voice. Harry punched the closest football player hard and fast in the face, and that with a low powered _'Stupefy' _the guy was unconscious before he hit the ground with only the smallest amount of red light to show that anything strange had happened.. Before the other players could react Harry spun and kicked a second football player hard in the chest and dropped him to the floor.

Before he could hit the next football player a pipe burst from overhead, with a large cloud of steam covering the area underneath. Harry just managed to step back before he got burnt by it.

He looked at the pipe oddly. _'Did I do that?' _he thought to himself. Did his magic cause the pipe to burst? Shaking the thoughts from his head and trying and succeeding to not look suspicious.

"You all ok?" He asked, surprised to see Chloe in the room as well when last he'd seen she was Clark's personal cheerleader.

"Yeah, we're fine." Clark said.

"Okay, What the hell was that?" Lois asked loudly and in disbelief as she looked at the burst pipe.

"Guess the pipe must have broken or something." Clark said after a seconds silence, looking shocked at what happened.

With a glance over to Chloe, he looked over at Lois, "I'm guessing you worked out how to snap them out of whatever it was?" he asked.

Lois smiled sheepishly, "I accidentally burned Chloe and she snapped out of it."

"So its heat that does it?" Harry asked, turning to look at the burst steam pipe. He had doubts that he was responsible for it bursting. He looked over at Clark and saw that he was trying to act normally for the situation. Harry easily saw the guilty look on his face.

Harry knew that Clark had somehow done it. Knowing instinctively that Clark didn't want anyone else knowing what he'd done Harry continued, "So, what do we do now?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

An hour after the fight in the locker room Harry sat back at home, sitting on his front porch, too the untrained eye, staring into space. In actuality Harry was using his Omni-lenses and reviewing the recording he had taken from when the steam pipe burst. With the luck he had, Harry always had his lenses record what he saw. The lenses only had a total record time of 24 hours so at the start of each day he would reset them and begin again.

He had watched the locker room fight several times now and he was now 90 percent sure that Clark had burst the steam pipe with his eyes. Harry observed that moments before the pipes burst Clark had taken on a look of concentration and his eyes seemed to glow for a moment. Harry didn't quite know what to make of it, but perhaps Clark was able to control fire, and thus heat like Harry could control lightning?

He'd have to keep a closer eye on him.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	10. Flash

**AN:** _A short chapter I'm afraid, but hopefully enjoyable none the less._

**Chapter 10 – Flash**

_(Friday, October 29th 2004)_

The week following the 'love potion' incident had been a good week for Harry. Proving once again, getting into a potentially life threatening situation was good for friendships, as was 'saving the day'. After knocking out three football players armed with baseball bats in order to protect Clark, Chloe and Lois, despite his help not _really_ being needed, Harry could definitely say they were friends.

Lois had been given the place her place in Metropolis University and had moved out of the Kent farm and into the dorms at Met U. Harry had gone with to Metropolis and helped her move in. He'd visited a couple of times as well. For wanting a place in University so badly, she seemed to be doing whatever she could not to take it seriously and they'd spent their evenings wandering Metropolis and wandering into bars. Due to Harry's magical nature he had an extremely high tolerance for non-magical drinks and would have struggled to get drunk. Harry was also incredibly surprised by just how much Lois could drink and not feel the effects. He was interested in what he reaction to firewhisky would be.

On their trips round the city Harry was appalled by the level of crime. There was one part of Metropolis called Suicide Slums that people didn't dare enter after dark. Something needed to be done about it. An idea crossed his mind to approach the crime problem the same way Gotham City had. The large, nearby city and home to Wayne Enterprises, had one of the worst crime rates in the country due to its large nature. Over the last year though, the crime rate had dropped significantly due to what the newspapers were referring to as, 'The Batman'.

Batman, according to the Gotham Gazette, the cities main newspaper, wore a black armoured suit and patrolled the city at night. Whilst the police had no desire to admit that a 'winged' vigilante was helping the city, it seemed obvious that it was. People weren't even entirely sure if the crime-fighter was human.

As far as Harry was concerned, Batman was doing a lot of good in Gotham and Metropolis needed its equivalent. Harry had briefly considered attempting something similar himself but the fact that he would have to publicly use magic deterred him.

He'd also been given the grand tour of Smallville by Lana and on occasion Chloe. They'd taken him to what he could only guess was everything of significance in the town, which admittedly didn't take long. The Kawatche caves had interested him though. He couldn't quite peg what it was, but there was a something powerful there. The mark Lana wore on her back also being painted on the walls added to the mystery.

He'd spent what time he could with Clark as well, but after his winning pass in the recent football game Clark was busy keeping his new fans at bay. It was obvious that he was pleased that he'd found his place on the football team, but was suitably embarrassed about the attention. Harry fully understood that, having experienced it during his Quidditch days.

Harry had watched the match and admitted that it _was_ exciting. The fact that the entire town came out to watch added an incredible atmosphere. He'd quickly found himself cheering along for the Smallville Crows with everyone else.

He'd also tried to spend what time he could outside of school with Lana. He managed some time but due to her having a boyfriend she was often busy. The problem that Harry was having with that was that Lana had asked him if he didn't mind covering for the two of them due to her having to keep her relationship with her school's football coach. He'd met Lana's boyfriend Jason Teague and talked with him once. He couldn't explain his reasoning, but he didn't like him. Still, as Lana was his friend he agreed that he'd be their cover every once in a while.

He'd also been surprised that Lex Luthor hadn't contacted him. After meeting the man in Clark's barn Harry had been sure the man had realised who he was and his connection with MI, but maybe he hadn't.

He'd also, much to his surprise, found himself getting along quite well with Chloe. She'd been the one that he had initially been the most wary of given her status as a reporter, but he'd gotten to know her, and despite her being too curious for her own good, she was a nice person. She'd tried talking him into helping write for the Torch but he'd refused, stating truthfully that he would _never_ be a journalist.

There was too much bad blood there.

And thus was how he found himself with Chloe in the Talon during its grand reopening. The place was packed and the staff were rushed off their feet trying to serve the ever increasing line of customers. Sitting in a coffee shop had also been a new experience for him. He could honestly say that before this day he had never drank a cup of coffee. Of course with Chloe being a caffeine addict she soon sorted that out by taking him to the Talon to be acclimatized.

Sitting sipping his coffee, which he found himself enjoying, he watched Chloe as she moved from different groups of people, getting quotes and opinions of the reopened coffee shop. Harry sat thinking about Clark again, something that had become habit quickly, although thankfully not an obsession. He hadn't mentioned his suspicions to anyone, but simply watched for anything strange.

His theory of Clark being able to manipulate and create fire hadn't gotten any further than what he had seen once during the pool party, but he hadn't given up yet. From what stories he had gotten from Chloe and Lana, Clark had been in the centre of most major incidents that had happened in the town for a few years, but they didn't seem to have any suspicions. He was curious to why that was when Clark was so obviously a bad liar.

He was snapped out of his thoughts when he saw Clark enter the Talon with a guy he hadn't seen before. He was almost a foot shorter than Clark with spiked up light brown hair, wearing a red hoody. He was definitely a couple of years younger.

Chastising himself for doing so, he listened into their conversation. "She says to call her next time you're in Miami." The boy said to Clark with a teasing smile.

"Sshh!" Clark chastised him, looking to see if anyone was listening. "I can't just go run back down to Miami."

Harry's interested was now peaked. His geography was good enough to know that Miami was a fair distance away He cast another notice-me-not charm around himself, silently wondering if he was becoming addicted to that spell.

"Why not?" the boy asked, clearly not understanding what Clark was saying.

"Because it's…" Clark stopped, not sure what to say.

The younger boy took advantage of Clark's silence, "It's what? Too much fun, Clark? Come on, dude, nobody's ever died from it."

And with that the boy vanished for a microsecond before appearing on the opposite side of Clark that he'd been before. Not only that, but he was holding a cookie that had already been bitten into. Harry immediately replayed the scene with using only his left Omni-lens whilst using his occlumency skills to split his focus and concentrate on the conversation in front of him.

Harry watched what just happened again in slow motion, but even that wasn't of any help. Harry watched as the boy blurred before appearing. It definitely wasn't Apparating but Harry had no idea what happened.

"What are you doing? " Clark hissed at him, clearly annoyed and snatching the cookie from him.

"I'm eating a cookie, dude, I'm starving." The boy said as if it explained everything. It was obvious Clark knew how he'd done it. He tried legilimancy on the boy but found himself unable to process his thoughts. They moved too fast for him to follow.

"You can't just take whatever you want. My mom runs this place." Clark tossed the cookie back onto the counter, which as it had already been half eaten, was a complete waste.

"Look, man," the kid said, annoyed. "There's a line. I don't do lines. "

Harry watched as Chloe approached the two, "What's up, Kent? I thought you'd still be in Metropolis playing detective." Harry knew what she was talking about. Earlier on in the day they'd heard that Mr Kent had been robbed whilst in Metropolis and that Clark was tracking down whoever had done so.

"I thought I'd leave that one up to the authorities." Clark said with a significant look at the boy in red. _'Was that boy the person who robbed Mr Kent?' _Harry wondered. With whatever power the boy had and how he had taken the cookie, Harry knew it wouldn't be difficult to rob a wallet.

"Never would've caught him, anyway." The boy said smugly confirming Harry's theory.

Chloe looked over at the boy curiously. "Chloe, this is my friend Bart. He's from..." Clark said.

Bart interrupted Clark mid speech, "The future."

Chloe looked intrigued, "Really?"

"Yeah." He shot a look at flirtatious look at Chloe. "I ran all the way back in time to tell you that we're still in love a hundred years from now."

Ran.

'_That's an interesting choice of word to use.' _Harry thought to himself. With a new idea he reviewed the boy's… _Bart's _cookie grab earlier. When he blurred the blur moved slightly towards the counter and then switched back.

"He ran?" Harry muttered to himself. _'Is it possible he can run faster than they eye can see?' _Harry wondered to himself and removed the charm that hid him.

The running idea made sense. What didn't make sense was why Clark was with him. It seemed obvious that Bart had robbed his father a few hours before, so why where they hanging out? Clark obviously knew what Bart could do, and if they were both in Miami earlier on, could Clark do the same thing? Could he run at the same speed or had he used whatever power over heat or fire he had to get there. He sighed in annoyance. He didn't like mysteries, and this one kept growing.

Chloe laughed aloud at Bart, clearly delighted with his answer, "What's your favourite kind of flower, Chloe?" he asked, still flirting with her.

"Uh, tulips." she answered before looking around to Clark in confused amusement. Harry watched Bart carefully, having an idea of what was about to happen. He saw in slow motion as Bart disappeared and reappeared about two seconds after, although slightly longer than before. His viewing clearly showed a blank space before Bart turned up again in a frightfully quick blur.

"How did you do that?" she asked in astonishment as Bart handed the orange tulip to her.

He gave her a smug look, "Magic."

Harry smiled this time at his answer, remembering during his 5th year when they had been taught how to conjure flowers. He'd chosen lilies, for obvious reasons.

"Wow." Chloe said mockingly, but still amused.

"You want to see some more?" he asked. Chloe nodded and walked back over to Harry. He was surprised for a second. Considering their flirting Harry assumed that they'd have gone over to another table, but obviously it was just for amusement as neither of them looked put out at having another person company. Mrs. Kent approached Clark and pulled him aside.

"Harry," Chloe said as she sat down. "This is Bart. Bart, Harry."

"Hey." Harry said and shook is hand. Bart's eyes went up to Harry's forehead in a way that most of the magical world did. Harry immediately began thinking that perhaps the boy was a wizard but his thoughts barely started.

"Dude," he said with an impressed look. "That scar is awesome. Anyone ever tell you it looks like a lightning bolt."

Harry laughed, unable to help himself, "Yeah, once or twice." He looked at the red backpack the boy was carrying and saw a yellow lightning bolt decorating it.

"How'd you get it?" he asked.

"Magic." Harry answered, echoing the boy's response from before.

He smirked at Harry, amused.

"Oh shoot," Chloe interrupted looking at her watch. "I've got to get back to the Torch, I've got a deadline." She pulled her car keys from her purse. "Will you two boy's be alright by yourselves?" she asked.

Harry just rolled his eyes and Bart smiled charmingly at her. "We'll survive." Harry said. She nodded.

"Sorry I couldn't stay Bart. I'll see you around?" she asked.

He grinned, "You couldn't keep me away."

She smiled again and left. "She works for the school's newspaper." Harry said in explanation of just what the Torch was.

Before Bart could say anything Harry spoke again, "How was Miami?"

A brief look of comprehension flashed across his face, before an annoyed look appeared, "Dude, you were listening to us?"

Harry shrugged, "I have good hearing." he answered before putting up the notice-me-not charm around the area again.

"Not cool. What did you hear?"

"Nothing much. What I saw was more interesting."

"You didn't see anything." he answered quickly.

"The cookie and the tulip?"

"As I said, it was magic." He answered, trying to dismiss what he knew Harry was getting at.

"Perhaps, but then you mentioned running." Talking a chance he asked, "You can run faster than people can see?"

He rolled his eyes, "Dude, no one can do stuff like that."

Ignoring the voice in his head that sounded rather like Hermione telling him not to, knowing that Clark trusted Bart, he took a chance, "People around here can do strange things." Checking that no one had pierced or crossed his charm work he held up his left hand and created a small ball of lightning between his caged fingers. He dissipated it after a few seconds.

Bart looked at Harry, eye's widened in awe. "Dude…" he whispered in awe.

"So, what _can _you do?" Harry asked, curious to know if this boy had a spontaneous power like he did. He was pretty sure that should he try to obliviate Bart, he would move away faster.

Snapping himself out his shock, he answered sounding pleased with himself, "I'm fast." Harry just raised an eyebrow; the answer said very little and he considered himself fast. "Speed of light fast." Harry's other eyebrow rose. "What about you? Anymore than that little trick there?" He looked around, "How is it that no one's looking?" He looked back at Harry, "What did you do?"

Harry shrugged, "Comes with the lightning. People don't notice me if I don't want them to." He paused and answered Bart's previous question about what he could do, "I can do a few things but nothing that I can show you here."

"How did that happen?" he asked, lowering his voice and sounding more sympathetic. "You get into an accident as well?"

Harry shrugged, not actually sure where the lightning came from, "Not that I know of. I've only been able to do this for about three months. Got myself into a situation I couldn't handle, and it just appeared and got me out. Still working out the fine details. What about you?"

"There was this accident a couple of years ago, right? Then a huge flash of light, and bang, fastest man in the world." He said with a smile, showing he clearly enjoyed what he was.

He smiled again, showing just how excited he was, "Dude, this is so awesome. I always wandered why if I was the only one like me, and I'm here, right in the middle of nowhere and in less than a day and I've already found two others. We could start a league or something." He paused, realizing what he said.

"Clark?" Harry asked.

"You know about Clark?" he asked in surprise.

"Not really. I knew there was something a bit odd, but hadn't quite sure what. With the Miami comment earlier he can run as fast as you can?"

"Dude, I can run faster than him." Seemingly offended that Harry thought they Clark was just as fast.

"That's a yes then." Harry muttered. "So you just… run… then?"

"Yeah, I can go wherever I want whenever I want."

"And stealing?" Harry asked, not judging.

"Man," Bart moaned. "You as well? I've already got Clark hounding me about that. I just do what I have to."

Harry could understand that, "Hey," Harry said, holding up his hands to show he meant no harm, "I know better than most that surviving is difficult and sometimes you have to do things you'd ultimately prefer not to."

Bart was surprised by the answer, "You know what it's like?"

Harry nodded, "My parents are dead and my guardians in jail. Had my parents not left me money, I'd probably be doing what you do. I got lucky." Harry paused for a moment, "What about your parents?"

Bart looked uncomfortable, "They didn't really understand, you know?"

Harry nodded, "Yeah. My Aunt and Uncle were like that a while back. Where you staying?"

"Kent's gave me their couch for a few days, though I doubt I'll stay that long."

"You can't always run you know." Harry said, knowing how many times he wanted to run away from everything.

Bart shrugged before smiling, "Dude, I'm going exploring. I'll see you around alright?"

"Bart," Harry said, stopping him as he stood up, taking another chance with the younger boy. Despite not being able to read the memories, he could still tell that he was a good kid and just a little lost. Harry put his hand in his pocket and conjured a small rectangle card with his name and number on it. He passed it to Bart, "Keep hold of that."

Bart looked at it and then back at Harry, "You ever need a place to crash, give me a call. We super powered guys have to stick together right?"

Bart smiled, "Smell you later dude."

He disappeared with a burst of air. Harry tilted his back, staring at the ceiling.

"Why is my life so weird…." he muttered to himself before getting up to get another cup of coffee.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN: **_Whilst I would have loved to make this chapter longer and have Harry interact more with what happened in this 'episode' I can't as Clark has to develop as well and if Harry takes all his adventures, there's no point in Superman…_

_Given the date that this takes place it shouldn't be hard for you to work out what date the next chapter takes place._

_Review and give suggestions, I love reading them._


	11. Halloween

**AN:** _So, Halloween… hope it meets people's expectations. I did what I could here to humanise Harry from the powerful wizard I've written so far. Hope it's good. I'm slowly but surely running out of my pre-written material and I've currently found two addictions that are really destroying my writing time so I hope I don't run out too soon._

_Had a few emails and such about people having problems that this story is Harry/Lana because of the fact that they are very distantly related. Keep in mind, most pureblood families are closely related and, looking at family tree's, Harry's grandmother or great grandmother was a black and Arthur Weasley's mother was a Black, making Harry and Ginny __**FAR**__ more closely related that Harry and Lana are. For those that have a problem with the pairing, remember that._

**Chapter 11 – Halloween**

_(October 30th – 31__st__)_

Harry had been right in assuming that he wouldn't see Bart again after he'd said goodbye, he hadn't seemed the type. Harry's mind had been preoccupied with other things however.

Ever where he looked, from the school, to shops and passing homes, Halloween decorations were being put up. His least favourite time of year. It was near this time of year 17 years ago that his parents had been murdered and his godfather imprisoned. Pretty much every year he'd spent in the wizarding world, minus his 5th and 6th year, something awful happened on Halloween. In his first year Hermione had almost been killed by a 12ft mountain troll. In second year, a basilisk that had been asleep for 50 years began its reign of terror again. In his third year, the Gryffindor dorm entrance had been attacked by the 'mass murderer' Sirius Black. In his fourth year his name had come out of the Goblet of Fire and he had been entered against his will into a deadly tournament.

He had been surprised to have a quiet 5th and 6th year Halloween, but clearly fate had just been preparing him for what was going to happen next.

October Friday 31st 2003 was a day that would haunt Harry for the rest of his life. It had been that day, that despite receiving no physical damage almost killed him. That had been the day that Voldemort and his Death Eaters conducted their largest single attack, the day they destroyed Hogsmeade.

It had also been the day that the Order lost most of it's members, most notable names including Remus Lupin, Molly Weasley, Albus Dumbledore and his best friends, Ron and Hermione.

After that day he'd been practically comatose for a month after, refusing to speak to anyone and simply trained until he collapsed from exhaustion. He'd repeated that for a full month, ignoring all protests to open up to someone. He had finally snapped out of it when the once painfully shy Neville Longbottom punched him out in the middle of the great hall on December 1st and explained to him just _why_ he had to snapped out his depression. With the death of Dumbledore, he was now the leader of the Light.

Neville's approach had worked wonders for him and he began to open up and he was able to strengthen the friends he had around him.

That however, wasn't helping him now that he was alone again. The weather on the 30th had been awful, close to torrential rain, thick dark clouds, hard winds, and of course, thunder and lightning. Harry knew that his emotions were causing the weather to be as bad as it was. He had tried briefly to control himself enough to remove the clouds but he'd failed and had quickly given up trying. He just didn't care. He'd spent hours on the 30th just walking around, almost completely oblivious to the weather around him.

Halloween this year fell on a Sunday. He hadn't 'slept' in two days as he'd been unable to relax his mind enough to manage, seeing his friends and family die every time he did. Thus he had sat awake in his lounge staring at the clock as midnight struck. When it had he'd entered his magically sealed room. He picked up the photo album he kept of those who died. The pictures had been charmed still as he was unable to watch them move around happily when he knew what happened to them.

He pulled on the last Weasley sweater Molly had made for him, Gryffindor red with a golden lion in the centre. It still smelt of the Burrow.

With his sweater on he walked back downstairs, summoning a whisky bottle from his liquor cabinet and took a long drink from the bottle. He leaned back into his couch, not surprised that the calming charms were doing nothing for him. He poured a full glass of the amber liquid and held it in the air and toasted his friends, "To you." He whispered before downing the glass and pouring another one.

He knew his friends would understand him mourning on this day. He was proud that he was able to live through his days without feeling the crushing depression he did just now and he knew it was only because he knew his friends would be utterly disappointed should he stay depressed.

"It's hard you know," he whispered to the room, knowing that his friends and family were truly listening to him. "I manage most of the time. I know you wouldn't want me to be depressed. I know you'd want me to keep living, but it's hard. I was so lost when you all died, when you all left me." He paused, feeling incredibly guilty for saying that last part. He felt a single tear run down his cheek. He paused, trying to think what to say. He hadn't spoken to his friends in a long time.

"I didn't know what to do. I was lost. Neville saved me. You would have been proud of his approach Ron. I'm sure you saw it," he chuckled lightly. "Punched me out during lunch in the Great Hall; caused quite a scene. Hope he's doing alright." He downed his glass and filled it up again, savouring the burning feeling in the back of his throat. Thunder roared again and the sky lit up.

"I was so relieved when I could finally leave Britain. Had to leave; sure you know why. If you don't, Hermione can tell you, she always could." He managed to smile again. "I'm sure she's complaining about me drinking. She never liked that. Hope you understand 'Mione." He took another drink and began to feel the slight effect of the alcohol. His occlumency shields held and that, along with his magic, gave him a huge tolerance to alcohol. Another tear ran down his face. He was surprised he still had tears left to shed in his life.

He sat in silence for a long time just staring into the burning fire in front of him and listening to the howling of the wind and the crack of thunder outside. He wasn't sure how long he sat just staring, but he knew hours had passed whilst he continued to drink.

"This town is so weird," he said to the ceiling. "But I think I'm fitting in alright. Only been here 2 weeks and odd things are happening that doesn't involve me. Feels good. Got some friends here too. They seem like good people. I know you'd like them." He sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "They're just like we use to be; innocent. Clark seems to be just like me from what I've seen and heard, rushing in and saving the day; selfless and self sacrificing. There's something special about him. Not magic, but something else. Power." He lost his smile. "I hope it works out for him better than it did for me. No one deserves what I got." He downed his glass and refilled it. "Did I deserve it?" he asked the room. Thunder greeted his question.

"Chloe's seems to be just like you 'Mione. She's nice, even though she's a reporter. Never thought I'd meet one I liked. Lois, she's just like you Ron; blunt, says what she wants, does what she wants." he laughed slightly. "First time I met her she asked about my scar, straight up. Didn't answer, but I like her."

He sighed again and rubbed his face. He hadn't slept or shaved in two days and it was beginning to get to him. "Lana," he paused, thinking about her. "She was my first friend here. She showed me around you know, made me feel comfortable here. She was in France for the end for the war. Came back here just a few days before me though. Guess she knows what it's like moving around the world." He took a drink, not downing the glass this time. He'd already finished three quarters of the bottle after all.

"There's something odd about her though, or odd _around _her. She's got some magical tattoo on her that she says just appeared. Recognised the symbol from your Ancient Runes homework 'Mione." He managed a weak grin, "Bet you're proud."

"I think I know what the rune means, but not why it's there. She mentioned a tomb of some countess that sounds familiar, can't place it though. Wish you were here to help 'Mione, you'd know exactly what was going on. I suppose I'll just have to wait and see what happens." He took another drink, finishing another glass. He knew was most likely going to be seriously ill when the Alcohol wore off, but he was beyond caring. He wiped his wet cheeks.

"Don't see her too often now though. She's quite popular." He refilled his glass and picked up the photo album and opened it to the first page. Most of the photos in the book were those that Colin Creevey had taken during his years at Hogwarts. He had been Harry's unofficial photographer during his Hogwarts years. Harry had always been in protest against it, although said nothing to the boy, as telling the overly excited boy to stop would have been almost like kicking a puppy.

Now though, now he was glad he had all these pictures. A few days after Neville had snapped him out of his depression over losing Ron and Hermione, Colin had approached him and given him a photo album he'd created of the photo's, most that he'd taken, of the friends and loved ones Harry had lost in his life.

That had been the first time he'd cried in living memory, knowing that he'd never let himself cry before. He'd opened the first page to see a photo of he, Ron and Hermione sitting in front of the large oak tree on the Hogwarts grounds, the same photo he had above his fire place and just cried. It had taken him a week to get over it. He made more of an effort to talk to Colin afterwards.

He stared at the picture, just wishing those days were still here, that he could just fall into the picture and relive them again. He knew it was possible with magic to speak to his friends, the 2nd Deathly Hallow, the Resurrection Stone, the stone that he wore on his right hand could guarantee that, but he knew that the magical item was a curse. Most who used it killed themselves shortly afterwards in order to reunite themselves with those they lost.

Dumbledore had given it to him after removing Voldemort's soul from it early in his 6th year. He'd used it once to briefly see his parents and Sirius and that had almost been too much for him. Now, he wore it merely as a reminder that his friends spirits were still watching over him from above. It was his comfort blanket.

Feeling more tears run down his face he closed the book again. "I don't know what to do anymore. What do I do with my life? After everything I've gone through, what do I do? I can't go back to the magical world, never really fit in there, too many bad memories. What can I do here? I can't just get a job and live a normal life like the rest of the world."

He downed another glass, noticing that his hand-eye coordination was beginning to drop. He wiped away the tears. "What's the point?" he asked the room, his voice gaining volume. "Maybe I should just end it?" He slowly pulled off the ring on his right hand. All he had to do was rotate it three times and he could see everyone he ever lost. "Who would care?"

He knew if he did it that would be the end. He grasped it tightly in his hand, feeling his nails cut into his palm and a burning sensation. Tears were running freely down his face as he stared at his closed hand. "No." Harry whispered. "No." he repeated louder.

"No!" he shouted, throwing the ring across the room, as far from his as possible. "Argh!" he roared and threw his half full glass of whisky into the fire place. The fire flared brightly for a moment when the alcohol touched the flame before dying back to what it was before. He dropped his head into his hands and he cried.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Monday, November 1__st__, 2004)_

Come Monday the weather was beginning to settle back to normal, as it should be for early November. School resumed as normal for the students of Smallville High. Some were a little bit hung over from Halloween parties the night before, but most were fine. Harry though, he wasn't there. Lana Lang, who shared each of Harry's classes, was curious as to where he was. She, Chloe and Clark had spent Halloween night at the Talon, drinking coffee, relaxing and laughing at the costumes they saw people in. She'd wanted to spend the evening with Jason, but Chloe had asked her if she had plans before she'd spoken to Jason, and no one was suppose to know they were dating. They'd called Harry once or twice, but he hadn't answered his cell phone. After that, they'd just left it alone.

Now though, Monday after school, no one had seen him since Friday afternoon. That was odd in a small town like this where everyone seemed to know everything about everything that happened.

She walked towards the Torch, looking to see if Chloe had heard anything. She walked in to see Chloe sitting at her desk typing away at her computer, just where she expected to find her. She looked up, "Hey Lana."

"Hi Chloe, have you seen Harry around?"

Chloe looked at her oddly, "Don't you share all your classes with him?"

"Yeah, but I've not seen him since Friday. You heard anything from him?"

"No. You called his cell?"

"Yeah, no answer though."

"You think something's wrong?" Chloe asked.

Lana shrugged, "I don't know, he might just be ill. I was thinking about going to check and see though. He doesn't have anyone to look after him in case he's sick."

"Lana Lang, nurse maid?" Chloe asked with an amused smile.

Lana rolled her eyes, "I'll see you later Chloe."

"Hold on Lana, I'll come as well." Chloe said, her curiosity winning over.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Lana and Chloe pulled up outside Harry's 15 minutes later. They walked up towards the front door and knocked. They waited for a minute but no one answered. Chloe, releasing her inner reporter moved around the house looking through the windows to see if there was anything suspicious had happened inside that would have caused Harry to vanish from the radar. To her surprise she found Harry sitting in his lounge. He didn't look up when she knocked on the window. If it wasn't for the fact that he was breathing, she'd have thought he was dead. Slightly concerned as he obviously wasn't asleep, she walked back towards the front porch where Lana was sitting waiting for Chloe to come back.

"Anything?" Lana asked upon seeing her.

"Yeah, he's in there, but something seems wrong."

"Wrong?" Lana asked.

"Yeah, he's in the lounge and awake, but when I knocked he didn't look up."

Slightly concerned Lana walked over to the front door and turned the handle. It opened. "Harry?" Lana called.

Lana and Chloe shared a concerned look. They pushed open the door and walked inside and through to the lounge where Harry was. "Harry?" Lana said carefully, trying to get Harry's attention. He made no move to indicate that he had noticed them. He continued to stare ahead of him looking towards the fire place that was still burning merrily.

She looked around the room, noticing that Chloe was doing the same. Immediately she spotted the two empty 1ltr whisky bottles sitting on the table in front of him, as well as a used glass and thick leather bound book. She also saw the shards of what was once a glass by the front of the fire.

Chloe picked up one of the whisky bottles, "Did he drink both of these himself?" she asked.

"I don't know. I think something's really wrong with him." she said as Harry still hadn't moved since they had entered the house.

"Should we call an ambulance?" Chloe asked.

Lana sat down next to Harry and placed a hand on his shoulder, "Harry?"

He seemed to have heard her as he blinked a few times and turned towards her. His eyes were extremely red and blood shot. It had also been obvious that he'd been crying, "Lana? Chloe?" he asked, his voice harsh and dehydrated. "What are you doing here?"

"You didn't come to school and you didn't answer your phone. We were worried." Lana said softly.

"You were worried." he muttered to himself quietly, although loud enough that Chloe and Lana still heard. He looked back towards the fire

"Of course we were," Lana said. "You're our friend." Her voice was slightly shaky. There definitely was something wrong with him. His usual calm, confident demeanour was gone.

Harry's mouth twitched slightly in which she was sure was a very small smile. He looked back over at the girls, "It's Monday?" he asked, obviously not knowing.

"You don't know what day it is?" Chloe asked, sitting down on the single chair a few feet away.

Harry shook his head, "No. I was thinking." he said quietly.

"About what?" Lana asked in similar tone.

Harry looked down at the table in front of him to the leather bound book. Lana looked down at it and then back at Harry. He nodded in a way that said she was allowed to look. She leaned forward and picked it up. Scribbled on the front of the book was _'Before their time.' _With a deep breathe she opened the book. On the first page was the same photo that sat above his fire place of his two friends by a large tree. She flicked over the next page to find several more photos.

The first was the other photo Harry had on his mantel, the one of Harry and his Godfather. The one below was of a different man, wearing old and tattered clothing, greying light brown hair and an easy going smile. He had scratches across his face that made it look as though he'd gotten into a fight with an animal. He sat on an old brown couch and was reading a book with a Latin title. He'd obviously not known the photo was being taken. The next photo was again of the same man, but this time he had his arm around a woman who looked almost 15 years younger. She was wearing brightly coloured clothes and had vivid pink hair. They seemed to be a couple, odd looking, but happy.

She continued to flick through the book, seeing a pattern in the people there. Whilst all the photos were different, they showed the same 13 people in different pictures. There were several photos of people that could only be Harry's parents. His father looked very much like him, only with his mother's eyes. There was then Harry's godfather, the man in the worn clothes, the pink haired woman, his friends Ron and Hermione, a blonde haired girl with eyes that looked slightly too big for her face, three of the red heads from the family portrait Harry had above his fireplace; two males and one female. One was short, stocky and had quite a bad burn on his left arm. The other was slightly taller than the other boy. He had an important look on his face and horn rimmed glasses. The third was obviously the mother of the family.

There were then pictures of a tall man with a long white beard down to his belt and a woman with a strict look on her face and her hair in a bun. They were wearing strange clothes and Lana assumed that they were in costume for a party or such.

She finished flicking through the book and went to put it down. She stopped and looked over at Chloe who also wanted to see what was there. She glanced at Harry who nodded in understanding and she past the book to her friend.

"Who are they?" she asked.

Harry said nothing for a moment, appearing to be thinking of just _who _they were. "Friends and family." He paused for a moment. "They're all dead."

Lana's eye's widened, "They're dead? What happened?"

Harry sighed and rubbed his eyes, "There was an attack last year; same guy who killed my parents. Most of the people in that book died that night." He leaned back in his chair and stared at the ceiling, "That was at Halloween last year."

Lana immediately understood why Harry was in the state he was. His friends and family had died and he had just sat through the anniversary of it alone. She looked over at Chloe who was flicking through the photo album. It was difficult, almost impossible for her to comprehend losing so many people and it happening so fast. She didn't think she would be able to lose one of her friends without breaking down, and here was Harry , having lost so many people and still able to go from day to day.

It also explained the physical damage she had seen done to him as well. If he had been at the attack that his friends died in, that would explain the multiple scars and the most likely stress related grey hair.

She reached out and touched his hand, offering him a small amount of support. He looked surprised for a moment, as if he wasn't able to understand what happened. After a second he looked her in the eyes and smiled ever so slightly, the first smile she had seen from him since they entered his home. She felt proud of herself that she had helped him somewhat.

"I think it would be a good idea for you to get some sleep." Lana said softly.

"Yeah," Chloe said. "You look like you've been awake for three days." She paused and considered what she said. "You probably have been up for three days."

Harry chuckled lightly, "I could use some rest I suppose." He sniffed the air and grimaced, "And a shower."

"Are you going to be ok?" Lana asked him.

She was surprised that he didn't answer with an immediate 'Yes', but that he considered his answer, "I think so." Lana found that she believed that answer. She and Chloe left soon afterwards.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry watched as Lana and Chloe left. He was eternally grateful to both of them, but more so to Lana. He'd been in a bad place and they'd taken him from it and done so remarkably easily. He hadn't noticed them enter the house or anything that was said in their first moments there. He'd thought several times about just ending his life, but managed to talk himself out it each time. After he'd finished his 2nd whisky bottle his mind had seemed to shut down. He just sat and stared at the fire. When Lana had touched his shoulder his mind realised that something was happening and had woken him up.

He hadn't known what day it was, how long he'd sat there or why they were there. When Lana had said 'We were worried,' that was something of a revelation for him. She was telling the truth. He knew that, no one could lie to him. Someone here would have missed him if he was gone. It was a warming thought.

Back in England he knew people there had needed him, needed him to destroy the darkness, but they wouldn't have missed him if he'd died afterwards; mourned for their 'hero' perhaps, but not for Harry. He then had a small group of people he considered friends, but he had known some of them for 8 years before, so that was understandable.

Hearing that some people in Smallville would miss him, despite him still being the new kid gave him a warm feeling. He seen in both Lana and Chloe's minds that they worried about him. When Lana had asked him if he'd be ok, with her hand resting on his, he knew he would be.

He snapped himself out of his thoughts and looked around the room. He waved his hand towards the fire place and the flames died down. With a second flick the remains of a glass he had apparently thrown into the fire vanished, as did the empty bottles in front of him. He stood up, his first time doing so in Merlin knew how long. His neck cracked and he stretched his stiff body.

He saw the Resurrection Stone lying in the corner of the room. He walked slowly towards and knelt down beside it. He picked it up slowly before sliding it back onto his finger.

He stood and walked through to the bathroom. He stumbled slightly. Realising that the alcohol was still affecting him he held his right hand to his forehead and hissed in parceltongue and the affect that the alcohol had on his mind was gone. He cast several other spells in a similar tongue, allowing him to feel far better than before, albeit _very_ hungry as he'd vanished the contents of his stomach.

He was glad he had knowledge of the parcel healing spells as he had no talent for potions, no matter how many years he had studied. During his 7th year he taken a trip back into the Chamber of Secrets for no other reason than he was curious about seeing the place again. On a whim he'd opened up the mouth of the statue of Slytherin and taken a look as to what was being guarded there. He'd found a small library, containing no more than 100 books. Excited at discovering some battle magic that would aid him in his fight against Voldemort he eagerly began to read, only to quickly discover that _all_ of the spells were healing spells.

He'd been disappointed but still read, eager to see just what the most infamous school founder had written. His disappointment quickly turned to one of real interest. He had taken a few books from the library to his friends to show them what he'd found. They had informed him that all they could see was a combination of squiggles and dots in the books and they'd come to realise that he'd been reading the written version of parceltongue; parcelscript.

From that point on he studied those books by himself. After spending a year and half on how to kill and defeat Death Eaters, learning long lost healing spells was a fantastic feeling. A lot of the spells turned out to be variations of a large number of potions that existed in this day and age. He had struggled to learn those spells, having almost no talent for healing. In the end, he focused on a few select spells that would help him the most. The most advanced spell he was able to manage was one to heal minor breaks in the bone.

Harry entered the bathroom and looked at the mirror. He was a frightful mess. His naturally messy hair was now flat and lifeless in a way he'd only seen once before. His eyes were bloodshot to the point that they reminded him more of Voldemort's eyes than his. He cast a slight healing spell to his eyes to repair the damage done to them. He blinked a few times and looked back into the mirror to see the damage repaired. He ran a hand across his chin and upper lip, removing the stubble that rested there.

Concentrating on his lightning powers he restrained them as much as he could and took a quick, very hot shower. He stepped out and cast and drying and cleaning charm just to be thorough.

He looked back in the mirror and smiled. He was looking better and feeling better as well. He yawned, now feeling the three days worth of sleep depravation that he'd built up. He walked through to his bedroom and lay down on the bed. He absently noted that this was the first time he'd actually used this bed. He closed his eyes and using his occlumency exercises tried to relax. His mind immediately drifted to Lana, how she'd woken him from his trance, how she'd comforted him by placing her hand over his. How she'd been worried about him and cared enough to check up on him.

He opened his eyes and stared at the ceiling. Feeling slightly more awake than he had been moments before. Was he having feelings for Lana? He shook his head. No, he'd repressed those urges. He had been intimate with a few girls during the war. It was one of the best ways of releasing tension and stress. The need to feel good and wanted, the need to feel alive was a strong one when people around you were dying daily. He had never been in an actual relationship with a girl though. He'd closed off that avenue. It simply never would have worked during the war.

The thought that those restraints were being removed from him scared him slightly. Knowing that it could lead to nothing but trouble he accessed the thoughts and restrained them again. They would still be there, only dampened enough to not be a bother. It was an occlumens skill he was remarkable proficient at.

He closed his eyes again and relaxed his mind. He was in his simulated sleep state moments later.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Monday, November 1__st__, 2004 – The Talon: 7pm)_

Lana sat at her favourite table in the Talon reading over her essay for advanced lit class. It was finally finished. Sighing in relief she picked up her coffee mug and took a drink, finishing the remains of it. Finishing the essay had been difficult. Not due to the work itself, no, she knew that well. She was however still worried about Harry. He hadn't said anything, but from his bloodshot eyes, the stubble around his chin and the bottles of alcohol he had she doubted that he'd slept in the last few days.

It was obvious that he had problems, which was understandable considering what he'd been through. What did throw her off was how he acted most of the time. He seemed perfectly natural. When he smiled those smiles were real. He laughed and he joked and he'd gotten on well with her and her friends. The Harry she saw back at his home was completely different though. That Harry was broken down and defeated, almost an opposite of the Harry everyone had seen before

She was broken from her thoughts as she looked up to see Harry walk through the front door of the Talon. She raised both eyebrows in surprise. He looked perfectly healthy and normal again despite having only seen him three hours ago. It seemed impossible but there he was, clean shaven, looking healthy, if slightly pale, back wearing his usual black ensemble.

He looked over to her and he smiled before walking over to the counter, walking over to her table a minute later with two mugs of coffee. "I saw you ran out." he said and sat down.

"Harry?" Lana asked, still not quite believing him to be the same broken down person she'd spoken to a few hours ago.

He smiled at her, the same smile he always used when she knew he was enjoying something or amused, "Surprised to see me?"

"I only saw you a few hours ago and you were a mess. You look perfectly normal now."

He snorted, still smiling, "I'll never be normal anything, but I'm doing better now."

"You aren't tired?"

He shook his head, "I had a couple hours sleep and I'm feeling fine again. I don't sleep much. I don't need it," he said, answering her unasked question.

He sighed and looked her dead in the eyes in a way that made it feel he was searching her soul, "Thank you Lana," he said softly. "I was in a bad place and you pulled me from it. I'm in your debt for that."

"I… You're welcome." she said, surprised.

Harry leaned back into his chair, relaxing and taking a sip of his coffee, "So," he said. "How are things with you and Jason?"

Lana looked around to make sure no one was listening. Satisfied that no one was she began to chat with Harry.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Next chapter, Harry and Clark find out quite a few things about each other. Should be interesting…_


	12. Souls

**AN:** _New chapter… and stuff. Update was a bit late because I'm having trouble writing a part of chapter 18 and it is taking ages. Should hopefully be done soon…_

_I've had a few reviews and PM's from people saying they don't like the Harry/Lana pairing. Whilst I'm pretty certain that it won't change further on, I've created a poll in my profile page for those who feel strongly about it._

_Enjoy_

**Chapter 12 - Souls**

_(Tuesday, November 2nd, 2004 - Evening)_

Harry sat on his magical sealed room flicking through a book on the animagus transformation. Despite his skill in transfiguration he had never actually tried it. Dumbledore and McGonagall had both asked him if he wanted to attempt it during the war, but it was something that he'd put off numerous times. He'd been wary of it since he learned some of the more hidden truths of the transformation.

Those who were to attempt it were clearly warned that successfully turning into their animal changed a person. In some cases the person who tried gained some abilities that their animal had. Minerva had told him that when she completed the transformation her eye sight sharpened, her balance and grace increase and she also yearned for more sleep. Remus had told him that Sirius' senses had increase to canine levels. He'd also become more playful.

It was that thought, the thought of his mind changing that scared him. Now though, with the war finished and behind him Harry was considering attempting the transformation. In most cases it took years to be able to transform, but Harry was confident that he could master it relatively quickly. After all, the most difficult part of the transformation was forcing your body to use wandless, internal magic to force the change. Having already mastered wandless magic past anyone in recorded history, Harry was sure he could do it quickly.

He would have to put off trying for a while though as the first step, finding your inner animal, required a carefully brewed potion, one that he was sure he'd be unable to make. It was at this point he'd usually go to Hermione and ask for her help, knowing she could do, but he couldn't now.

He felt a wave of sadness hit him, but nothing compared to what it was only two days ago. He closed his eyes and thought of the happy memories of his first female friend. Numerous memories came quickly and he felt himself smile slightly.

He closed his book and placed it back on the self. He cracked his neck twice and Apparated downstairs. He was fed up of sitting alone and wanted company and something to do. He grabbed a jacket from the stand by the door and Apparated himself to the Kent farm. He forewent the process of turning invisible, knowing that the location he Apparated to wouldn't be seen by anyone.

He approached the house and knocked. Jonathan answered the door. "Hi Mr. Kent. Is Clark around?"

"Hi Harry. Clark's up in his loft."

"Thanks Mr. Kent." Harry turned to walk over to the barn where Clark spent most of his free time.

"Harry," Jonathan said, stopping Harry. "Just so you know, Clark's been acting a bit strange today."

That caught Harry's attention, "Strange?"

"He quit the football team. Martha and I think something's bothering him."

Harry frowned at the mention of Clark quitting the team. Despite not being able to sense the mind of Clark like he could everyone else, he knew just how proud he was to be on the team. Quitting would be the last thing on his mind. "Thank you Mr. Kent."

Harry turned and approached the loft. Clark was dressed as though he was about to attend a meeting, wearing a plain blue shirt, black trousers and dress shoes. Whilst the clothes suited him, they weren't the clothes you'd expect to see him wearing. He was pacing back and forth looking impatiently at his watch. "Hey Clark."

Clark looked over, "Oh," he said as if surprised and confused. He smiled in way that made Harry feel odd, "Hi."

"Are you ok Clark?"

"I'm fine," Clark said with the same odd smile on his face. "I've never felt better."

"You sure? You don't even seem to recognise me."

"I'm sorry, my minds just been a bit jumbled today." Clark said in what he was sure was a reassuring tone. Having dealt with politicians for years, Harry saw through it.

Harry looked him dead in the eyes and was surprised to find that Clark's mental shielding was down considerably, although there was still a natural guard protecting the mind. Quickly deciding that something was wrong and the situation called for it Harry subtly waved his hand whilst silently casting _'Legilimens.'_ He slipped in relatively easy and looked through Clark's memories of the day. He almost pulled out of mind in shock when he discovered that the memories – or mind inside of Clark wasn't his own.

He kept flicking back through the hours, uncovering several abilities that Clark held. As well as being able to shoot heat from his eyes and super speed like Harry had already guess, he saw that Clark also had incredible strength. He kept viewing the memories until he saw a scene unfold at a prison where Lex was visiting his father. He watched Clark burst into the room and tackle Lex out of the way. Everything went black for a moment before everything shifted and Lionel Luthor was in the body of Clark. He watched Lionel scream as he was dragged away and he could see fear in the old man's eyes. It seemed as though Clark had been pulled into Lionel's body.

Needing to do damage control quickly, Harry pulled out of Clark's… Lionel's mind. "Well, if you're sure." Harry said. "Hey," Harry said, as if just remembering why he was here. "I was just going to go for a drink down at the Talon. You want to come?"

"Not just now thanks. I've got things to do." Clark smiled at him again.

Having expected and hoped for that answer Harry shrugged, "Well, if you're sure." He turned to leave and stopped. With a small wave of his hand he cast a tracking charm on 'Clark'. "If you change your mind, give me a call."

"I will." Lionel said, looking quite relived that Harry was leaving. Harry walked out of the loft and Apparated immediately back home. He pulled his cell phone from his pocked and dialled Chloe. "Harry?" came Chloe's voice from the other line. She sounded distressed.

"Chloe, are you alright?"

"What? Oh yeah, fine." Her voice changed and assumed what Harry knew to be false cheer, "What can I do for you?"

"I need a favour Chloe. Can I meet up with you?"

"Um, ah, I'm at the Torch just now." Her voice was hesitant and Harry guessed that she didn't want company just now.

"Thanks for Chloe. I'll be there in a minute." He hung up the phone and Apparated to the outside of the school. He made his way through and quickly found the Torch. Chloe looked up in surprise at seeing him so quickly. It was obvious that she'd been crying.

Thoughts about Clark's body switched were quickly over come with a need to help Chloe, after all, she'd been there when he'd been a mess a couple of days prior. "What's wrong Chloe?" he asked as he pulled up a chair beside her.

Chloe tried smiling but it was obviously forced, "Nothing. It's fine."

Harry smiled slightly, "It's obviously not. You and Lana helped me the other day. It's only fair you let me help."

Chloe wiped her eyes and sniffled slightly. Harry put his hand in his pocket and conjured a handkerchief. He handed it to her and she smiled thankfully. She wiped her eyes and blew her nose. "Thanks Harry."

"No problem. Now, do you want to talk about what's wrong?" he asked softly, knowing that persistent people who tried to force you to talk about your feelings were not viewed favourably.

"Clark was here earlier," she said after a moment. Harry nodded, knowing that Lionel in Clark's body would be able to do a lot of damage to Clark's friends if no one else guessed body switching. She sighed, "I came in here earlier and he was sitting at the computers. He was acting really weird. He said some things about Lionel Luthor and what I thought he would do if he ever got out."

She took a deep breathe, "He then started flirting with me. I was confused because Clark doesn't do that. He leaned down to kiss me and just before he did he pulled back, insulted me and left."

Harry sighed, Lionel was really screwing with things so far and he didn't know how much more damage had been done. "I'm sorry Chloe." He placed a hand on her shoulder. "The Kent's think that something's wrong with Clark. They think he got hit on the head. I went to see him earlier and he didn't even remember me."

"Really?" Chloe asked. Harry detected a bit of worry and hope in her voice.

"Yeah." He sighed, this was going to be a strange request. "Chloe, I need a favour from you with no questions asked. Can you do that?"

She seemed surprised, "What? I, what do you need?"

"I need you call whatever prison Lionel Luthor is in and arrange a visit for me to speak with him immediately."

Chloe seemed shocked beyond belief at the request and Harry couldn't blame her, "What? Why do want to speak with him?"

"Please Chloe. I need to do this now. I promise to explain it after you make the call. Just know that it's important."

She seemed sceptical, but soon moved over to her desk phone and made the call to the prison.

"Ok," she said to Harry after hanging up the phone. "I've got you a meeting to speak with him in 2 hours."

"Thank you Chloe." Harry said sincerely, already feeling guilty about what he had to do.

"Are you going to explain to me what's going on?" she asked.

Harry stood up, "I'm sorry Chloe."

"Sorry about…" she didn't finish her sentence as Harry jabbed his hand towards her and stunned her. He raised her head up and placed the palm of his hand on her forehead. "I'm really sorry." He closed his eyes for a brief moment, _"Obliviate."_

He wiped out her memory from the point when she walked into the Torch and saw Clark. Her memories were now of her entering the Torch and falling asleep at her desk. Harry vanished any remains of the fact that he'd been at the Torch and Apparated to Metropolis. He whistled down a cab and asked to be taken to the prison.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry had quickly been taken to the prison by the taxi driver and had had to sit and wait for over an hour before they would allow Harry to speak with Lionel. Time seemed to have slowed down as he waited and he couldn't help but worry about what the real Lionel was doing in Clark's body at the moment. He would have attempted to stun Lionel and leave him that way until he came up with a solution, but with Clark having so many abilities, doing so might be incredibly difficult.

He'd noticed that on the sign up sheet, Clark had called the prison and had a meeting scheduled with Lionel in 20 minutes time. Harry realised that he probably only just managed to arrange to meet 'Lionel' before Clark did.

He was brought from his thoughts when one of the security guards approached him, "Mr. Evans, follow me." Harry stood and followed the man through the corridors. It was only a few seconds later when they entered a large room to where Lionel was sitting, staring at the table in front of him.

He looked up when he heard them approached and his eye's widened as he looked at Harry. Harry would have laughed had the situation not been as serious. He nodded thanks to the guard and the uniformed man step away from the table, but still close enough to see the table. Harry sat down and cast a privacy charm around them.

"Harry?" Clark said. Even though Clark was disguised as Lionel, with his face and voice Harry could still tell that it was Clark. The fact that his mind was completely closed off helped immensely as well.

Harry smiled slightly, "Hey Clark." He said casually. "How's things?" Harry refrained from laughing out loud at the look on Clark's face.

"What? How?" Clark asked.

"How do I know that Lionel Luthor is wandering around Smallville in your body whilst you're in his?" Harry asked. Clark nodded, "For now, that's my secret. What happened?"

Clark hesitated for a moment, before putting his hand in his pocked and pulling out a small black stone with a rune carved on top. "I was in here with Lionel. He touched me with this and the next thing I knew, I was in this body."

Harry nodded, knowing that it was more or less true from what he'd seen in Lionel's memories. "I have some slightly bad news." Harry watched as Clark tensed. "Lionel has worked out what you can do."

Harry saw Clark's eye's widen in fear before the look mostly disappeared, "I don't know what you mean." he said quickly.

"Clark," Harry said patiently, doing his best not to roll his eyes at the poorest attempt at lying that he could recall. "He knows about the fire, speed and strength." Clark's eye's widened again but Harry continued speaking, "I already knew about the fire and speed."

"How?" Clark asked in shock.

"You remember that fight we got into with the football players and that pipe burst? I saw your eye's glow seconds before. I also overheard you're conversation with Bart in the Talon a few days ago."

"You noticed all that?" Clark said, now looking resigned to the fact that someone now knew his secret.

Harry nodded, "Yeah, I did. Now, if you want my help getting you out of here I need to know what else you can do."

"I…" Clark managed to get out, looking as though he'd _really_ rather anyone not knowing.

"I swear on my parents graves that I won't reveal your secret to anyone, but if you want my help to get out of here I need to know what I'm facing." Harry said resolutely.

"If he knows what I can do you won't be able to touch him."

"Clark, you aren't the only one with a secret. Let me help. What can you do?"

Clark raised his eyebrows at the mention of other powers before sighing and slumped down on his chair, "Heat vision, strength, speed, enhanced hearing and X-ray vision."

Harry nodded, "I need to try and get Lionel back to you. Is there _any _informationyou can tell me that would help me stop him."

"You wouldn't be able to get him in here." Clark said, avoiding the question.

Harry smiled, "Leave that to me. Please, is there anything that I can use against Lionel?"

Clark looked ready to deny anything. Harry sighed, wandering just what he could do. Would he be able to stun Super-Lionel? Would magic work? Would lightning weaken but not kill him? This was definitely a mess.

"Meteor rocks." Clark said quietly.

Harry looked up, "Meteor rocks? What about them?"

"I'm allergic to them. I get ill if I get near them." Clark said, as though the words physically hurt him. Harry guessed that in some way it had. After all, revealing a weakness to anyone was a bad thing.

"And that stops your power?" Harry asked, pleased to have gotten some information that would help.

Clark nodded. Harry began working on a plan in his mind. "Alright, here's what I need you do Clark. I need you to find some place inside here that you can stay away from people and security cameras. Stay there for as long as you can, ok?"

"What are you talking about Harry?" Clark asked, confused.

"Trust me on this. Oh, keep the stone on you as well." Harry cast the same tracking charm he had on Lionel on Clark and stood up, removing the privacy charm. He smiled reassuringly at Clark, "I'll see you soon." He walked towards the doors

"Harry!" Clark cried back to him.

"Trust me." Harry called back without breaking stride.

A few minutes later he had signed out and left the prison, quickly Apparating back to his home once he was sure he was away from any security cameras. Thinking quickly on how to find a meteor rock he decided to try the brute force option that usually worked so well for him. Apparating again, he stood on his roof. He held his hand out to a section of empty field and called out, "_Accio meteor rock._"

Moments later he had several large chunks of the rock floating in front of him. He levitated the rock down outside of his house and picked up the purest piece he could find, a solid green piece of rock about 3 by 3 inches. He placed the piece aside and conjured a wooden crate in which he placed the rest of the moderate amount of green rock as well as a handful of red chunks and a very small amount of blue. He sealed it shut and levitated it away from the house, but still on his property. He cast a few simple wards around it and went back to the house. He summoned the green piece he'd chosen and looked at it closely.

Not sensing any magic or energy coming from it, Harry used his Omni-lens to scan the rock. He was surprised to see, _'Unknown'_ flash before him. That meant that it was giving of some sort of energy similar to magic, but otherwise unknown. That was somewhat worrisome.

He closed his eyes and concentrated on the location of both tracking charms. He could sense that Clark was still nearby, obviously near his home. Harry Apparated to where the tracking charms position appeared back in Clark's loft. Clark immediately dropped to the ground and moaned in pain. Harry looked down at the rock in his hand and noticed that it was glowing somewhat and there was a definite energy coming from it.

"What are you doing?" Clark bit out.

"Sorry Lionel. You got caught." Harry said whilst kneeling down beside him. He placed the rock on 'Clark's' chest and cast a sticking charm, making sure he didn't escape the rock. He stunned him to finish up. He disillusioned Lionel and himself. He closed his eyes again and concentrated on Clark. He definitely hoped that he'd managed to find some privacy.

With a small crack of Apparition he vanished from the Kent farm and to Clark. He immediately saw he was in an open cell that unfortunately contained another man as well as Lionel. They both turned at the sound of Apparition. Harry dropped down to one knee and remained still so the two prisoners would see nothing of them.

He cast a strong notice-me-not charm to the cell door and when the bald prisoner turned his back, Harry hit him with a stunner. 'Lionel' turned sharply to where the red light came from, but still saw nothing. Deciding it was safe to reveal himself he cancelled the disillusionment charms. Clark stared in awe. Harry stood up, brushing the dust from his right knee. "Hey Clark."

"Harry?! How did you get in here?" he gaped in shock.

"I told you that you weren't the only one with powers in this world." He unstuck the meteor rock from Clark and picked it up, deciding not to show his telekinetic like abilities. "Now, this isn't the place for this sort of talk, so get this over with." Harry indicated towards Lionel on the floor and Clark took the stone from his pocket. He walked towards the still moaning Lionel on the floor and grasped his hand with the stone.

Harry felt a powerful flare of energy before it settled down. Harry Enervated Clark, "Get that away from, me Harry. It'll kill me." Clark gasped as he realised what was going on.

"What did I tell you when I left the prison?" Harry asked, trying to verify that it really was Clark that was in Clark's body this time.

"You told me to trust you." Clark managed to say.

Harry nodded and vanished the meteor rock to Merlin knew where. Clark immediately relaxed and his breathing returned to normal.

"You feeling better now?" Harry asked. That green rock looked as though it was quite painful, almost to the levels of the Cruciatus curse.

"Yeah, thanks." Clark said as he pushed himself back onto his feet.

Harry surveyed the area around him, trying to work out what he needed to do now and thinking he should have planned this slightly neater. First things first, he needed to erase any memories Lionel had of this day. After dealing with Clark. "Clark, I need you to get out of here. I'll be back in Smallville soon alright?"

"Harry," Clark protested. "I think it's best if I stay here with you."

Harry sighed, getting a strong feeling that Clark wouldn't be moved, "Fine, just don't tell anyone about this." With that, Harry walked towards the fallen body of Lionel Luthor. He placed both hands on the side of Lionel's head and used his thumbs to pry open his eyelids. Using legilimancy Harry skimmed through Lionel's memories of the day. Harry was pleasantly surprised to find that it was blank after the body swapping incident. He cancelled the spell and stood up to see Clark looking at him oddly.

"What did you do to him?" he asked.

"I checked his mind. He doesn't remember anything about what happened today."

"You wiped his mind?" Clark asked, seemingly teetering between relieved and thankful as well as horrified that someone would or could do that to someone.

"No, he just didn't remember anything." Harry said truthfully.

Clark nodded and looked over at the bald man Harry had hit with a stunner, "He knows what happened though. Lionel arranged for him to be arrested and placed in his cell. He'll be able to explain what happened when Lionel wakes up."

Harry sighed knowing he'd have to actually arranged for someone's mind to be wiped. "Clark," he nodded towards the photo's and drawing's on the walls of rocks and symbols that seemed to match that on the stone. "Remove those."

Clark moved towards the pictures and started pulling them off the walls. Harry moved over to the other prisoner and repeated the same process he had on Lionel before removing all information about the day from his mind. Both he and Lionel would think they'd been unconscious all day. They'd have their suspicions about what happened, but never have proof.

Harry stood and saw the Clark had stripped the wall of anything incriminating. "He doesn't remember anything either." Harry said when Clark shot him another questioning look.

"You wiped _his_ mind then?" he asked, still not sounding as though he liked the idea.

Harry nodded, "I'll explain to you later, but I don't think now is the place to do this, do you?" Clark looked around and seemed to only just remember he was in a prison. He nodded seriously. "Get back to mine. I'll see you there." With that Harry Apparated from his the Kansas State Penitentiary and back to his home.

He arrived back in his home and sunk down onto his coach. He tiredly massaged his foreheads for the headache he knew was coming. He recapped what new information he'd uncovered in the last 2 hours. First, Clark had the abilities to move at lightning speeds, had strength to rival a giant, enhanced hearing and sight. He also knew that exposing him to meteor rock was potentially fatal to him.

He had also shown Clark some of his own powers. What had he shown him? Well, Clark knew he could teleport, erase minds, vanish objects and knock people out with red light and turn invisible. Did he need to tell anymore? _'I'm definitely not telling him about me being a wizard.' _Harry thought to himself. Not only was that illegal but it would open a can of worms he didn't want opened. He'd just have to wing it.

He heard a rush of wind from outside his house followed by a knock on the door. He guessed it was Clark, "It's open," he called. He heard the door open and Clark walked in. Clark had only been in this house once before. He strode into the room. He tilted his head as he watched Clark enter the room. Now that he knew about the abilities he had, the way Clark held himself made a lot more sense.

"Come in. Sit." he said to Clark, indicating the three seated sofa in front of him.

Clark sat down and looked over at Harry expectantly, "Drink?" Harry offered. Tension was thick in the air and Harry could tell Clark was tense. He wasn't overly worried. He trusted Clark. He didn't expect any violence from him but if he tried anything against him, Harry knew how to stop him. This now wasn't a conversation between friends, this was one between super powered beings.

"I'm alright." Clark said.

"Well," Harry started, leaning back in his chair. "This ought to be an interesting conversation."

"What are you?" Clark asked, bluntly.

"Different." Harry answered evasively. He smiled, "What about you?"

"I'm different as well. Were you born like that or did something happen to you that changed you?"

Harry shrugged. Honestly, he wasn't sure. He knew his magic was genetically transferred from his parents, but the lightning was new. He thought about his answer for a second. "Born. Still trying to work out what my limits are though. You?"

"I was born like this. What _can_ you do?"

Harry shrugged again, "You've seen more or less what I can do," Harry lied. He was tempted to show off the same lightning trick he'd shown Bart in the Talon, but Clark already knew enough.

Clark sat back and seemed to think over what he'd been told. "What about the mind thing you did back in the prison?"

Harry would rather not have talked about that, but he doubted he could avoid the question, "Whilst touching someone and with eye contact I can see into people's minds. I can't hear thoughts, but I can see memories, either the ones their thinking at the moment or recent ones." Harry said whilst spinning his legilimancy talent slightly as to be less incriminating for him.

"And the erasing thing?" Clark pressed again. It was obvious that this was the thing that was bothering Clark most.

"When I reach the memories I can remove the ones I want." Harry explained.

"Have you ever done this to me or my friends?" he asked, now reaching the most pressing point.

"Once," Harry said. He could see the anger in Clark's eyes, something that Harry hadn't seen before. Knowing now what Clark could do, Harry actually felt slightly threatened. Harry continued, "I used it on Chloe about 3 hours ago. When Lionel was impersonating you Chloe ran into him. I don't know what he said to her, but Chloe said you flirted with her, almost kissed her, pulled away, insulted her and left. She was in quite upset when I found her. She doesn't remember any of it anymore."

Harry watched Clark's anger disappear the more he spoke. When Harry mentioned Chloe running into Lionel Harry saw fear, when he explained what happened fear turned to anger, almost causing Harry to quote Star Wars' Yoda to him. When Harry mentioned that Chloe now remembered none of it, a relieved but guilty look crossed his face, something which Harry read as saying Clark was glad Chloe remembered none of it, and guilty for thinking it was a good thing to have happened.

Despite him being unable to read or enter Clark's mind, he was still easy to read. Clark was just like him when he was a naïve kid at 15.

Clark looked him in the eyes, "Thank you." He said, still looking guilty for having to thank someone for it.

Harry shrugged, "I'm friends with you and friends with Chloe. That situation never should have happened, so I made sure it didn't."

"Removing the memory won't cause any damage to her will it?" Clark asked, concerned.

"None," Harry assured him. "She won't even have a headache. All she knows is that she entered the Torch to find it empty, sat down at her desk and fell asleep."

"Thank you Harry." Clark said after a moments silence.

Harry nodded, "We're friends. You'd do the same for me if you could I'm sure. Now, what else do you want to know?"

"How did you know what happened between Lionel and I?" he asked curiously. That was to be understood when the newest person to the town worked it out and your parents and best friends didn't

"Another part of my mind reading power is that I can… sense minds," Harry explained. Seeing that Clark was confused he continued, "When I look someone in the eyes I can sense their mind is there. It helps me know if I'm being lied to or not. With you on the other hand, I've never been able to get a read. Do you remember what happened first time I met you?" he asked.

Clark thought for a moment before he nodded, "You had a headache."

"I had a headache because I looked you in the eyes and wasn't expecting to be bounced back."

"Sorry." Clark said apologetically.

Harry rolled his eyes if he knew his old self wouldn't have done the same as Clark did, "Nothing to be sorry for. Anyway, I went round to yours to see if you wanted to go to the Talon. Your parents told me you were acting strange and, oh, by the way, you quit the football team."

"I what?" Clark exclaimed.

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, but your dad said you did. Afterwards I went up to your loft and you pacing around. You had no idea who I was. It was then that I noticed your mind was there. I pushed and managed to find that Lionel was there," Harry said, elaborating somewhat. "I then called Chloe, and well, you know the story from there."

Clark sat where he was looking stunned. Harry couldn't blame him. "So," Harry said, breaking the silence. "What exactly can you do then? All I've got is vague details so far."

"How much can I trust you?" Clark asked, giving Harry a piercing look.

Harry was somewhat insulted, having just given Clark more than a few details about himself, "Fully." Harry said with conviction. "I've never known family and so I take friendship very seriously. You're a friend and unless you turn on me first, I'm not a threat to you."

Clark sat back in his chair, obviously relaxing somewhat, "I'm strong. It seems to increase as I get older; same with the speed." Clark explained.

"Are you as fast as Bart?" Harry asked, curious.

"No," Clark quickly responded. "He's a lot faster than me. How much does he know about you?"

"I showed him a trick or two in the Talon and told him he had a place here if he ever needed somewhere to crash. He seemed like a good kid."

Clark nodded, "Thanks for that. He needs people to look out for him."

"So, powers?" Harry said, reminding Clark to continue.

"My eyes generate heat and I can see through things, like an x-ray or straight through solid objects. My hearing, when I focus it is also extremely acute."

Curious about the x-ray vision Harry asked, "Clark, try looking upstairs with your x-ray vision and tell me if there's anything strange."

Clark looked confused by complied anyway. A serious look crossed his face as he stared at the roof. He swept his vision across the roof and stopped at one point. His eyes widened slightly as he reached the point Harry had been wanting for him to look at. He concentrated further but eventually stopped. He looked over to Harry, "There's a room I can't see into."

Harry nodded, "Good. Don't ask." Harry added as Clark opened his mouth. "Why do the meteor rocks weaken you?"

Clark tensed and looked uncomfortable and Harry knew he was about to be lied to, "I'm not sure."

Harry just look at him for a moment, "Whilst I don't believe you for a second I'll respect you privacy and not ask again." Clark relaxed slightly. "Do the other colours affect you as well?" Harry asked, remembering the other two colours he'd summoned.

"Other colours?" Clark asked with a frown.

Harry nodded, "I found a huge stash of green, a few handfuls of red and a few small blue ones."

"Blue? You found blue meteor rock?" Clark asked, his eyes widening slightly.

Harry nodded, "Yeah. Does it do anything to you?"

"I… I've never heard of blue meteor rock before."

"You want to see it?" Harry asked.

Clark shook his head, "Probably best that I don't."

"What does red do to you then?"

Clark looked as though he was trying to decide whether to tell the truth or not. "They affect my mind." At Harry's questioning glance he continued, "When I touch the red meteor rock it removes my inhibitions; makes me do things I don't' want to."

Harry nodded, knowing just how that felt. They sat in silence for a moment, "Where do we go from here now?" Clark asked.

Harry though about it instead of just answering with 'friends.' "Well," Harry started, still considering the answer. "Friends still, if that's what you want?" Harry half asked, half stated.

"Of course." Clark agreed.

"Well, considering I know what you can do, and taking into account all the stories I've been told about bizarre things going on in this town with you saving the day, I'm either an ally or alibi when you do whatever you do. If I get my way, an ally would be far more than preferable. I can hold my own against the best."

Clark thought about it for a moment before standing up and holding out his hand, "Friends and allies?" he said.

Harry shook his hand with a smile and they sat down. "Can I see the stone that this mess started with?" Harry asked Clark.

Clark looked as though he didn't want to let anyone touched the stone, but relented and pulled it from the inside pocket of the black trousers he was still wearing. He put it on the coffee table near Harry and pulled his arm back, obviously not wanting to accidentally touch Harry with it. Harry picked it and looked closely at it. He felt a small surge of power shoot through him and the stone appeared to glow for a moment. The sensation was gone before Harry could drop it. He took a closer look and his eyes widened slightly. _'It has the same mark as Lana does,' _Harry thought to himself. _'This is not a coincidence.'_

He traced the symbol on the rock, curious as to what powers the rock possessed, but not daring to use his diagnostic vision to see what it had to say. Seeing this rock just made him worry more for Lana. The symbol she and the rock carried was for 'Transference'. The rock switched people's minds, and possibly souls. What did this mean for Lana? He knew of only one sort of soul magic, Horcruxes, and that wasn't something he wanted to think about. It was beginning to look as though he would have to wait and see what happened before he could sort it.

'_Nothing new there then.'_ He thought with a frown. "Do you know anything about the rock?" he asked Clark. He threw it back it to him.

Clark looked hesitant to answer and Harry knew he was only going to get a half truth, "Edgar said Lionel found it somewhere in Mongolia. He said that this symbol meant 'Water,'" Harry nodded, pleased that his suspicion had been confirmed.

"Edgar?" Harry asked, not knowing who he was talking about.

"The guy Lionel's sharing a cell with. He was the guy with the pictures on the wall." Harry nodded. "He said that there were two other stones, 'Fire' and 'Air'. Lionel apparently wants them."

Harry nodded. It made sense from what he could gather. The stones obviously held power, and Harry had learned that those with power wanted as much power as they could get. "If the other stones do things similar the one you have, I'm not surprised someone like Lionel wants them. I would hate to see what would happen if he got all three of them though." He shuddered at the thoughts of objects that powerful being combined under a dark force, missing the look that crossed Clark's face. These stones reminded him too strongly of the Deathly Hallows that he possessed. Three items of unrivalled power combined together to create something more; something no one knew what.

He held the three Hallows, items, according to the legend, created by Death himself and presented to three brothers who had outwitted him. He'd held the third Hallow, the Cloak of Invisibility since the Christmas of his first year in Hogwarts. It was something that served him valiantly for 7 years until he retired it for Dumbledore's true invisibility spell.

He'd received the Elder wand after finally winning an all out duel against Dumbledore a month before the man died. They'd duelled outside in the Hogwarts grounds, fighting to the fullest extent of their abilities, only stopping short at killing each other. The fight had lasted an exhausting 20 minutes before Harry managed to stun Dumbledore. He still maintained the thought that it had been a lucky shot, but Dumbledore argued against it. That dual had won him the Elder wand, something he had only ever used once before sealing it away.

He'd then received the Resurrection Stone one month after the Death's of his friends in Dumbledore's will. He'd used it once, carefully, and spoke with his parents. He'd had serious thoughts about ending his life there and then, but the need to rid the world of Voldemort was stronger. He now constantly wore the ring as a reminder that his friends were not truly gone and that he had to resist temptation. It was a comfort blanket for him.

He thought back to the symbol on the stone, the same one that was on Lana. He owed Lana and he was going to work out what was going on. Thinking about Lana, Harry remembered something else he'd seen in Lana's memories. He'd promised not to tell anyone, but Clark was meant to know about it and Harry was sure Lana would speak to him later about it.

"Clark," Harry started. "Another thing you should know about something Lionel saw when he was pretending to be you."

"What?" Clark asked, sensing Harry wasn't comfortable saying it.

"I promised not to say, but you're meant to already know." He paused for a second. "Lana has been dating Coach Teague since the summer. They met when she was in Paris and he moved here to be with her."

Harry watched as realization crossed Clark's face. He was shocked. "I'm sorry Clark." Clark nodded, still staring blankly at the table in front of him.

"What did Lionel see?" Clark asked after a moment.

"I can't fully remember, I only saw pieces," Harry answered truthfully. "All I saw from the memory was that he walked in on a private moment and from what I gathered, you were rather cold about it."

Clark sighed again, resigned to the fact that this day had been one complete mess. "Thank you for helping me today. I would have been in a real mess without your help."

Harry nodded, knowing it was most likely true.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN: **_I would like to hear, from those who care, what they think or would want to be the result of aligning the Deathly Hallows. I have quite a few ideas, but haven't really settled on one yet._


	13. AntiJinx

**AN:** _First of all, thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. 46 reviews! Mental! Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll as well, I got far more votes than I thought I would._

_This chapter is just a filler piece meant to pass over an episode that I just wanted to ignore. For those disappointed, the next chapter is the one that everyone (perhaps) has been waiting for. I'm still trying to write the Alicia Baker part of season 4 and it's bugging me endlessly, just so you know, I'm running out of canned chapters. Hopefully my mind sorts itself out before I do._

**Chapter 13 – Anti-Jinx**

_(Thursday, November 11th, 2004 – Harry's home)_

Harry sat in his kitchen, a bottle of beer in his hand, thinking about exactly what had happened at school that day. Everything had been perfectly normal that week, allowing Harry to properly relax. He had re-read the theory on the animagus transformation and felt as though getting the potion soon would be a good idea; _if _he could find someone to make it for him.

He'd just had quite an awful day at school though.

_(Flashback)_

Harry and Clark walked through the corridors of Smallville High on their way leaving the school. Despite Clark knowing that Harry could 'teleport' and Harry knowing that Clark could run the distance in seconds, Clark had still given him a lift to school in his truck.

"You got Chloe anything for her birthday yet?" Harry asked.

Clark frowned slightly, "Nothing yet. I spoke with Lois yesterday and we've got a good idea what to get her now. What about you?"

Harry shrugged, "I got her a necklace. She should like it." Harry answered. Whilst he may not have had a particularly skilled eye for jewellery, he had money, and that paid for a skilled eye. Whilst he had a chest of jewellery that caught his eye in his vaults, those items were worth more in regards to millions of dollars, not something for an 18 year old reporter. Instead, he gone to a mid-range jeweller in Metropolis and bought it. He knew he'd spend more than he should have, and definitely more than anyone else would have, including her father due to him being unemployed. Harry knew the man worked in HR and was considering passing along a message to Ezekiel and sending Gabe Sullivan's name along.

General Lois Lane had been running the planning for the party, and was still scouting for a venue to hold the thing after Clark told her, flat out, that she couldn't have it in his barn. Harry hadn't offered his house as a venue. Thankfully Lois hadn't asked.

"I was thinking about…" Clark said, but Harry tuned him out, something catching his attention and he stopped mid step.

They had just passed by their lockers when Harry caught the eye of the foreign exchange student that Smallville had. The boy wasn't that good of a student, a 'C Average' at best, and thus Harry hadn't seen him around much. His name was Mikhail. Harry couldn't remember or pronounce his surname. He was standing chatting up a cheerleader who seemed to be enjoying his attention.

Harry made eye contact and pushed slightly with legilimancy, nothing overly obtrusive, but searching for what he had seen seconds before. He'd caught a quick image in the boys mind and a cold feeling settled in his stomach. He pushed harder into the boy's mind searching for more. When Harry found it, rage he hadn't felt in months reappeared.

Without thought for the consequences to the boy's mind he cast a proper legilimancy connection to his mind and entered fully, making no effort to smooth his mental attack. He flashed through memories getting angrier at each new one, his rage fuelling the power of the spell.

He saw that the boy had an ability, one he had been born with, one that he used freely. From what Harry saw, the boy had the ability to control the actions whoever he wanted like a puppet master, fully controlling the person's body, but leaving their mind free; a twisted form of the Imperious curse.

The Imperious curse, no matter how amoral it was, at least gave the user a sense of bliss when they were under it. They would feel truly happy, free from all burdens in the world. Having been under it a dozen times or so Harry could testify to that. What this kid could do was worse. The mind would have no control over the body but the mind would be _fully_ aware of everything that happened.

The first image Harry had seen in his mind was of him, using the ability to rape a girl. He had controlled her body, making it do whatever he wanted, whilst she couldn't do anything to protest against it. That memory was connected to another, and another and another. Harry counted around a half a dozen girls he had raped and then killed before Clark had stepped in front of him.

He felt the legilimancy spell become blocked by Clark's mental shields and he'd felt as though he'd been hit with car due to the force he'd been using. He stumbled backwards and turned away. He had then looked over to Mikhail to see him lying flat on his back, blood slowly pouring out of his nose. His eyes were open and he was still breathing, but Harry could tell from just a glance at his eyes that his rage had destroyed the foreign boys mind.

_(End Flashback)_

Harry ran a hand through his hair as he remembered the incident. The situation had really scared him and he was trying to wrap his mind around it. He hadn't been sorry for destroying the boy's mind. No, as far as he was concerned, justice had been served. It was doubtful that anyone would catch him doing what he did and there was nothing else he could have done about it. He had very little faith in the law.

What did scare him was that he _hadn't_ cared that he had destroyed the 18 year old kids mind. He hadn't felt one ounce of regret. During the war he had killed his share of men. At first, he only wanted to stun and bind captured Death Eaters but that had proven pointless. If a Death Eater was stunned in battle, another would just wake them up. If they were sent to Azkaban Prison, Voldemort would walk into the building as though it had a revolving door and free his men that were captured days before.

Harry quickly found that Death Eaters and Voldemort were unable to counter a cutting curse to the neck. Dumbledore hadn't liked this tactic, not allowing himself to use such an approach, but he conceded that it _was_ war and wars had casualties.

Despite the men he had killed, and dark curses he had used, he had never considered himself to be Dark. Gray, most definitely, but never Dark. He now sat, waiting for the inevitable confrontation with the only person who saw exactly what happened after the incident. Harry wasn't exactly sure as he'd left the moment he realised that he had done, but Clark had been there and Harry assumed he had waited with the boy when the ambulance turned up, especially as the incident had been 4 hours ago.

He heard a rush of wind outside followed by a hard knock on the door. "Come in Clark." Harry called out, knowing who it was. Harry took another drink and leant against one of the kitchen cabinets, wondering how Clark would handle this. Harry had his suspicions.

Clark walked through the house purposefully. _'Powerfully…' _Harry added. Clark seemed to be a tad annoyed about what happened. Harry, despite being as skilled as he was reminded himself to never truly get on Clark's bad side.

"What did you do to him?" Clark accused.

'_I told you so' _he though to himself. Clark was still in the mindset that there was good and evil, with no middle ground to play in. Harry had felt that before Sirius had died, but watching the closest thing you had to a father be murdered by his cousin, followed by attempting one of the most frowned upon spells in the world, only to be told the metaphorical target you thought you'd been carrying for years on your back was in fact real, and someone who's name most people feared to say had made you his number one target changed those thoughts quickly.

_If_ you wanted to survive. Harry had.

"Drink, Clark?" Harry offered, in a small attempt to throw him off his game.

"No. What did you do to him?"

"So you know," Harry said evenly. "The whole 'rush in and accuse' thing isn't a good start to a conversation like this." He paused for a second and took a drink, "Now, are you going to listen to what I have to say and allow me to explain, or are you going to use the 'holier than thou' approach and call me a villain?"

Clark seemed shocked by what Harry had said and his anger lower slightly. "I'll listen," he said, but he still stood rigidly.

Harry gave himself a mental pat on the back. He'd more or less disarmed Clark for the moment and that would give him a chance to explain. He hoped Clark would at least be able to understand.

"Since I pushed my consciousness into Lionel's mind to help you during your body swapping experience, my power to do so has increased," Harry lied. "If I look someone in the eye's I see flashes of memories; what their thinking about, remembering or imagining at the moment I look into their eyes."

Clark seemed shocked but allowed Harry to continue, "I caught Mikhail's eye today. From what I can guess, he'd been checking out one of the cheerleaders that walked past him, and that triggered a memory in his mind." Harry took a deep breathe, trying to work out how to explain it properly and repress to the urge to find the kid and end him properly.

"Mikhail had an ability." Clark's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"He had a meteor power?" Clark asked.

Harry shook his head, "No. From what I saw he's had it for at least 2 years."

"What could he do?" he asked.

Harry considered how to answer it to someone without knowledge of magic, "I guess you could call him a puppet master. From what I saw he had the ability to control someone's body. If he told you to stay still, you would have no control over your body to move. If he told you to stop breathing, you would stop, unable to start again until he dropped his control."

Clark looked horrified at the thought. "What did you see?"

Harry couldn't keep the anger out of his voice, "I saw him raping a girl. He'd taken full control over her body, making her do whatever he wanted. I could _see_ the fear in her eyes as she fully understood. That memory was connected to another, and another and _another._" Harry's voice rose as he continued and the final 'another' was greeted by the roar of thunder. Harry looked at his hands to see them glowing yellow. He closed his eyes and took a deep breathe. He couldn't let his anger escape him.

Clark looked at Harry in concern. It was obvious that what he had seen was bothering him. "I counted 6 girls before you stepped in front of me. Each one he did similar things to before having them kill themselves." He saw his hands begin to glow slightly again and took some calming breathes.

"Admittedly, I lost control, but I don't regret doing it to him." Harry said plainly.

"It was still wrong. You should have gone to the sheriff."

Harry laughed, "And said what? 'I read this boys mind and he's a murdering rapist with the ability to control the bodies of whoever he wants'?" Harry asked rhetorically.

Clark seemed unable to answer, "He was dangerous and he was a threat. What would happen if he caught on to what either of us could do? He sought power and control. I wasn't willing to risk it."

"Still…" Clark tried to argue.

Harry went for the win, "What would you have done had he taken and interest in Chloe? She's far too curious for her own good. Mikhail was the school's bookie and you _know_ that Chloe was starting to research an article about it." He paused, "What about Lana? I've noticed most guys in school have something of a crush on her, what would you have done had he taken an interest in her?" Harry knew it was a low blow, but it was true all the same.

Harry watched a dark look cross Clark's face at the thought of anyone touching Chloe or Lana like that. He didn't like that he was forcing Clark to look at the world from a darker point of view, but if Clark wanted to play the hero it was something that would happen eventually. Clark was a protector of innocents, or at least a protector in training. Harry knew very well that people eventually turned on those who tried to save them and that heroes had to make difficult choices in the best interest of those they defended. It wasn't glorious like stories and legends told.

"You still shouldn't have done that though. The Doctor's that looked at him can't work out what happened." Clark said, still managing to stick to his 'heroes harm no one' approach.

"I destroyed his mind. Physically, he's fine, but there's no mind there anymore. Admittedly, I lost control and I won't do that again unless I find a serious threat." Harry said, throwing Clark a bone. Clark had had a cushioned life so far, he wouldn't understand. Harry hoped that he would never have to.

"He was only 18!" Clark said, still trying to get his point across. "You could have done something else other than destroy his mind."

"Like what?" Harry asked. "Talk to him? Point of the error of his ways and hope he turns over a new leaf?" He didn't let Clark answer. "Some people are beyond redemption. He was one of them." He took a deep breath and exhaled. Dumbledore was a fan of redemption and Harry had never seen eye to eye with the man in that regard.

"Any word around school about what happened?" Harry asked.

"Nothing," Clark said with a shake of his head. "A few people saw him collapse, but nobody saw the look you were giving him before hand. The word is that he had an aneurism."

Harry sighed, glad that he wasn't a suspect. "How are you handling the new power?" Clark asked curiously, sounding more friendly but Harry could still see that he was struggling with what Harry had done.

Harry hated having to lie, but didn't see himself having much of a choice as of now. He was however glad Clark wasn't accusing him anymore. He explained what it felt like when he had begun learning the spell two and a half years ago. "It's difficult," Harry said slowly. "I seem to be able to control the strength and how much pressure is put on the mind, but the ability is always on so to speak."

Harry tossed the bottle of beer in the bin before taking out two more. He handed one to Clark who took it hesitantly. He nodded his thanks. Clark sat on a kitchen counter as Harry was. He continued, "I can't hear people's thoughts, just see things that they're thinking about, either what they've done or are imagining, from their perspective. It's confusing."

Clark nodded in understanding, "When my x-ray vision first appeared, I couldn't control that very well. I would get a headache and then when I opened by eyes I was seeing things differently."

"How did you control it?" Harry asked curiously, looking for anything that might help him control his elemental ability. "Did something trigger it?"

"I practiced, tried concentrating hard and willingly using the power." He shrugged, "It worked out in the end. I don't think I did anything to make it happen."

Harry nodded, "Doesn't really help me though. We both know what concentrating hard on someone's mind can do to them."

Clark nodded in understanding, "I had the same problems with my heat vision."

"What did you do about it?"

"Same with the x-ray vision; concentrate hard and learn control."

Harry nodded again, still stuck for a way to get practise with his powers over lightning. "You're parents know about what you can do?" Harry asked.

Clark nodded, "My powers started showing when I was about 6. I couldn't really hide it from them. Not that I'd want to anyway."

"They're supportive about it?"

"Yeah," Clark said with conviction. "Couldn't have asked for better parents."

Harry just nodded, trying again to dismiss the thoughts of the Dursleys. "Can they do anything?"

"What do you mean?" Clark asked, confused.

"Do they have any abilities, or where they just spontaneous in you?"

"Oh," Clark said. "No, I'm adopted."

"Ah, ok." Harry said, not knowing what else to say. "Did you tell them about me?" Harry asked curiously.

Clark shook his head, "I wouldn't do that."

"So you didn't tell them about the prison mess?"

Clark looked guilty, "No. I wanted to, but I couldn't explain what happened without mentioning you."

Harry nodded in thanks.

"What about you?" Clark asked. "Did your friends or family know?"

"My _family,_" Harry ground out. "Knew a bit about what I could do; uncontrolled stuff that appeared when I was young. At boarding school my closest friends knew a bit of what I could do when I learnt to control it."

"Really?" Clark asked with interest. "How did they take it?"

Harry answered with a half truth, "What I told them, they accepted well. They had some difficulty dealing with it and my best mate got jealous a few times. I didn't give them a full account of what I could do. They knew most of it, but I downplayed some my abilities as to not freak them out."

Clark seemed to deeply consider what Harry said, "Ever thought about telling your friends?" Harry asked.

"All the time," Clark said honestly. "It'd put them in danger just knowing about it. I told one friend before and he tried, but it was too much for him to handle in the end."

Harry nodded, not being able to disagree. Thoughts of him telling his friends about the prophecy and the wording flashed through his mind. He'd been frequently worried that they become targets just for that knowledge alone. However, in his case, they were already targets, Clark's friends were not.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The reaction to Mikhail's supposed aneurism the following day at school was very little. There were a few rumours going about but nothing particularly much. Apparently, strange things happened enough in Smallville that people no longer really questioned it. It was remarkably similar to Hogwarts in that regard.

The whole thing was forgotten about only a few days later however, due to the excitement that was being generated around Smallville Crow's chance to win the state championship. They only had one more game to go until the final. Now that Harry knew about Clark's abilities the football games were even more impressive to Harry.

Clark had given him a small demonstration of his powers and Harry had done so in return. Due to this Harry had a fair mental picture of just what Clark was capable of. Watching the matches and knowing that Clark was setting his own limit on how fast he could run and how far he could throw the ball impressed him. He managed to be an excellent player - a natural, according to the coach and assistant coach – yet he still played in the realms of the possible and downplayed what he could do. Harry was impressed.

In the end Smallville won the semi-final and the final with Clark making a pass in the last seconds that Harry was sure few could managed. He was now _officially_ the town hero, only it was for playing a game and not saving lives like usual.

The match had been on Saturday yet on Monday morning the school was still on a high from the win. Well, everyone except Lana. Harry walked down the hallways humming to himself. With how the town was celebrating it was difficult for him to slip into one of his darker moods. There had been weekend long parties and people celebrated in the street. He caught Lana's eye as he walked past her locker and stopped beside her. He'd felt a strong amount of sadness and a strong amount of hate.

"What's wrong Lana?" Harry asked as she opened her locker.

Lana didn't answer for a second. "Jason was fired this morning," she said.

Harry winced a little; that pretty much meant that someone had found out about Lana and Jason's relationship. "What happened?"

She sighed in frustration, "_Someone_ called Principal Reynolds and told him about Jason and my relationship. He was fired immediately."

"Do you know who called?" Harry asked. As far as he knew not many people knew their secret.

"No, but I'm pretty sure it was Clark." Lana said, showing just who she was angry at.

Harry was taken aback by her answer. For one, how she blamed Clark so resolutely. There was no doubt in her mind that it had been Clark. That also brought up the fact that Lana didn't even consider that he had been responsible.

Of course, he _hadn't _been, but it still said that Lana trusted him. Or at least more than Clark at any rate, which, when he considered it, didn't mean all that much. "Clark? What makes you think it wasn't me? I knew as well." _'And I don't like him either,'_ Harry mentally added.

Lana turned to him, "_Did _you get Jason fired?"

"No," Harry answered. "And I don't think that Clark did either."

Lana opened her mouth to protest but Harry cut her off, "Yes, he was hurt when he found out you were dating someone, but he _likes_ Jason. Jason has been nothing but good to Clark since he got here and Clark respects him. He would _not _have gotten him fired."

"Clark's been known to do strange things before that no one could ever explain." Lana shot back, still doubting Clark was innocent of the crime she seemed to think he'd committed.

Harry shrugged, "Believe me or not but Clark didn't do it." He paused. "Do you want my advice or do you just want to accuse him?"

She hesitated before nodding, "_Ask_ Clark if he called Reynolds and don't flat out accuse him of it. As no one in the school appears to know about what happened to Jason yet, odds are Clark doesn't either. Alright?"

Lana hesitated for a second and then nodded, "Fine. I'll ask him first."

Pleased that he'd resolved a small bit of tension between Clark and Lana and undoubted saved himself a headache he smiled. "Thanks for not thinking it was me." Harry said before turning and walking away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Next chapter: _**Horcrux**


	14. Horcrux

**AN:**_Sorry about the long update. I've not written anything in a few days and it worries me that I'm running out of pre written stuff. I'll try and pull my head out this week. The fact that I've added a chapter into a place where there wasn't one and not written it complicates things, but we'll see._

_Hopefully this chapter meets people's expectations. I've completely re-written this 3 times now and edited it to the point that I'm sick of it._

_Let me know…_

**Chapter 14 – Horcrux**

_(Saturday, November 25th, 2004)_

Having finally decided that he wanted to begin his animagus transformation, Harry decided he need to visit the magical district of New York in search of what he needed, knowing he couldn't make the necessary potion on his own. The location of the magical society was too far a distance to Apparate to so he travelled to Metropolis and lightning travelled from Kansas to New York.

As soon as he appeared he felt himself falling again. Despite the temptation to freefall for a few seconds, Harry restrained himself. Stopping a free fall, that didn't result in hitting the ground, was more difficult depending on the speed. Apparating whilst travelling fast speeds was also frowned upon. When he'd been learning to Apparate he'd been shown a photograph of a wizard who had tried to Apparate whilst flying a broom. It hadn't been pretty and Harry had never forgotten the story of Humphrey the Splinched, although the muggle raised had named him Humpty Dumpty, due to the healers never being able to put him back together again.

Having steady himself, he Disapparated, appearing at the Apparition point in Greenwich Village. With the wizarding area just a dozen yards away from 14th St. Harry could see the muggle New Yorkers walk past the entrance without a glance. He walked in and instantly felt the wards as he passed them. The place was packed.

The inside was closed off from the elements, being designed to look like a standard shopping mall in the muggle section of the city, taking up five floors worth of stores. It was quite a sight. Harry had been here once before when he'd received his Omni-lenses. He glanced at all the stores as he past, looking for something that would be a potioneers.

As he walked through he had keep himself away from the multiple broom stores. Here, instead of just selling all the brooms and flying sport equipment stored in one place, each manufacturing company had their own exclusive products, competing against each other. It reminded Harry of mobile phone provider shops he'd seen in London.

He continued walking through, in no hurry to find the right store, but just take in the sights and remembering what stores this place had. He did note that people were giving him odd glances

It wasn't until he reached the top floor that he found what he was looking for. Apparently America magic users had more common sense than the British as Harry could see multi-coloured fumes coming from several buildings and up into ventilation in the roof. He could image that having the potion shops on the ground floor in an enclosed area to be a problem.

Now, all he had to decide was which shop to enter. From what he'd seen there were four stores selling potions ingredients, three selling pre made potions, and two selling both. One of the pre-made potion stores was far quieter than the rest for Harry decided to start there. He walked in to 'Pioneering Potions', pleased to note that the air smelt fresh and not of potion ingredients.

The walls were lined with multi coloured vials. Not sure where to start looking, Harry approached the counter. A man of about 40 greeted Harry with a smile. His hair was long and brown, tied back in a pony tail, "Good mornin'. How can I help?" His accent was most definitely British.

"Uh, hi." Harry said, slightly uncomfortably now that he was speaking with someone from Britain again. He cleared his throat, "I'm looking for a revealing potion for the animagus transformation." Harry said.

The man smiled, "You're a Brit?"

Harry nodded, "Something like that."

The man's smile widened, "Always good to see another Brit around here." He tapped his fingers on the counter in front of him. "Animagus transformation you say?" Without waiting for an answer he turned and walked into a back room. Harry turned and looked around the shop. With all the colours it looked like a sweet store.

It only took a moment for the man to come back through with two vials in his hands, "You new to America?" he asked.

Harry nodded, "Been here for a few months. You?"

"Been here since I was 20. Couldn't wait to get out of that pureblood cesspool." He said pleasantly. "What'd made you escape?"

"The war." Harry said simply, not wanting this conversation to continue for much longer anymore.

The man didn't seem to notice, "Didn't seem that bad from what I heard." He said idly.

Harry looked the slightly shorter man in the eyes, "It was." He answered a bit coldly.

The man looked at Harry's face, his eye's taking in both scars and gulped. "Right, so these potions," he said, moving along with the conversation. He tapped a bright blue vial in front of him, "This is the one you're looking for. It'll knock you out for about 20 minutes and you'll wake up knowing what your form is." He placed in closer to Harry. "That ones the same recipe that's used all round the world."

He picked up the second vial, containing a dark blue swirling substance, "This one has been banned by the European Ministries, but is perfectly legal here." He passed it to Harry. "This one only works an hour after the first potion is taken and forcibly changes you into your form, leaves you for 5 minutes and then changes you back. It's quite painful." The man rolled his eyes, "Them lot back in Europe called this 'Dark', but all it does is speed up the change."

"How so?" Harry asked as he took a close look at the hypnotic potion.

"I've taken this one, so I know. The problem most people have with transforming is that their body needs to adapt to the change. This forces it to, giving the drinker a better chance of being able to transform."

Harry looked closely at the bottle. Did he want to try this as well? He frowned, whilst he didn't want it take two years to learn the transformation, he felt as though he could do it in only a few months. He'd also felt enough pain in his life to not want to experience more, just for the sake of a cool bit of magic. No, he wouldn't take it. He placed in back on the counter.

"Just the first one." Harry said.

The shop keeper glanced at Harry's scar again for a second before nodding and putting the dark blue vial behind the counter. "So you just want this one then?" he asked, pointing to the light blue vial.

Harry nodded. "You wanting something to carry that?" he asked.

"No. It'll be fine. How much?"

"$95." Harry raised a surprised eyebrow, expecting it to have been a lot more. Seeing Harry's surprised look the man continued, "This potion tends to be fairly popular around here. Even if the folk can't change, they like knowing what their animal is. All good potioneers have this on stock."

Nodding, Harry paid the man and left the store. He walked over to the railing and looked down at all the shoppers, trying to work out what to do now. Caught in his own thoughts he jumped slightly as his phone rang, set on vibrate. Rolling his eyes at himself he answered the phone, seeing from the caller display that it was Lois. "Lois, what's up?"

"Hey Evans. You hanging around with Smallville?" Lois asked.

"No. Not in Smallville just now. What's up?"

"Where are you?" Lois asked.

"I'm in Metropolis." Harry answered, knowing that she'd been in Smallville just now, or least on her way, to set up for Chloe's 18th birthday. "What's up Lois?" Harry asked slightly more forceful.

"Geez, I was just asking. I wanted to know if you were coming over to Clark's to help me set up for Chloe's party, but obviously you can't as you're in Metropolis." Her tone was disappointed and Harry knew she was trying to make him guilty for not being there. Her try didn't work.

"Wait," Harry said with a smile. "You're setting up the party at Clark's?"

"Of course I am," Lois said as if it were obvious. "Where else where else would I set it up?"

Harry laughed quietly, "Didn't Clark forbid you from having the party at his when he asked?"

"He might have said something to that regard," Lois said. "But there isn't anywhere else big enough and his parents are away, so his place is perfect."

"And when you turn up at Clark's with the decorations?"

"I'll just dazzle him with my feminine charms and he'll agree." Lois answered quite happily.

Harry rolled his eyes at Lois. Clark seemed to get confused beyond measure around Lois. The budding attraction was obvious to Harry due to having spent so long around Ron and Hermione. They were both clueless and Lois took pleasure in confusing, irritating and winding up Clark, just as an 8 year old would pulling a girls hair to get their attention.

It was endlessly amusing for Harry.

"He will agree, right after you guilt him into it. Keep in mind that he has that guy coming round from where ever it was to interview him tonight. You'll try to keep the party down to 80 Decibels and keep his barn intact?" Harry said, amused.

"It'll be fine. No one will even know there's a party going on." Lois said confidently.

Having been to a few of Lois's parties of choice in Metropolis, Harry doubted this somewhat. Whilst he was looking forward to the party he felt slightly bad for Clark.

"Chloe suspicious yet?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"Not that I can tell." Lois said after a moment. "I've set her up to go shopping with Lana later so I can finish off things for the party."

Harry smirked, despite to what Lois thought, Chloe had known about the party for just under 3 weeks, having heard no less than 4 conversations about it.

Harry had worked out that she'd known a few days after she worked it out and walked in on a conversation that Clark had been having over the phone with Lois about the location of the party. Clark had stopped the conversation dead when Chloe had walked in and Harry had caught her amused look as she completely ignored Clark's awkward pause. Harry had asked her about it and she admitted to knowing for a few days. For the last three weeks it had been a bit of game for Chloe to try and keep it secret that she'd known about it.

"Nicely done." Harry said, trying hard, yet succeeding to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

"Yeah, well." Lois said, not doubting her genius mind. "Right, I'm at Smallville's now. Catch you later."

"Bye Lois." Harry said and hung up his phone. He put it back in his pocket. "Well," Harry muttered to himself. "Lois thinks you're in Metropolis so you've got to stay here for a while. What to do… what to do." He caught a glimpse of a bright advert for a new Nimbus a floor below, "Well, maybe I could have a quick look."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Four hours later Harry found himself back at home. What had been a quick glimpse at a new broom turned into multiple glances at multiple brooms and stopping back at the potions court to pick up a few potions that he guessed would be useful sometime in the future. He'd only just been able to stop himself from buying a new top of the line seeker broom, relenting due to still having a Firebolt and not being in a magical society, even if flying over Kansas would be quite enjoyable.

After deciding that there was no sense in buying a new broom, he'd visited a car show room in Metropolis. While he loved his bike, it wasn't good for transporting items or people and society practicality dictated that he needed a car. He'd spent an hour looking but eventually just left after almost buying a Ferrari. That really wasn't the practical type of car he needed.

He appeared back home and after dropping off his magical items into his house's closed off room. After leaving the room Harry immediately Apparated to the Kent farm and checked out the barn where Lois would be hosting Chloe's party. The decorations were spectacular and Lois had completely changed the image of the barn's interior. Lights covered the walls and trellises, brightening the place considerably despite it being dark outside. Banners reading _'Happy Birthday Chloe' _sat just above head height on the bottom floor. After a quick look and noting that everything had been done he approached the house and knocked on the door.

Clark, tidying up wrapping paper in kitchen, looked up, "Come in Harry."

Harry came in and caught a glimpse of Chloe's present from Clark on the table. He tilted his head and looked at it oddly, "Super powers doesn't extend to wrapping presents, does it?" he asked Clark with a smile.

Clark winced slightly at the reminder of the present. It looked as though it had been wrapped by a ten year old. A drunk ten year old. The parcel was in bright blue paper but Clark had obviously struggled with the mechanics of wrapping a present and whilst the identity of the present was hidden, large pieces of tape covered the box and there were large areas where he could see the cardboard box the present had been placed in. Large pieces of wrapping paper were littered all over the kitchen from failed attempts. A big red bow sat on top, indicating that Clark was done with his attempt. "It's not something I'm use to doing." Clark said.

Harry just laughed, "I'm sure Chloe will enjoy it more than she would were it wrapped properly." Harry laughed, picturing, "She'll appreciate effort," He paused for a beat. "And find it hilarious."

Clark smiled sheepishly, "Lana said something similar."

Harry raised an eyebrow, sure that Lana knew nothing of Clark's powers. Seeing Harry's questioning look Clark corrected himself, "She said I needed a woman's touch." Clark said a bit meekly.

Harry laughed, picking up the present an examining it from all directions, "I don't know about a woman's touch, but it sure as hell needs something." He put it back on the table, resisting the urge to fix the present. His Aunt Petunia had taught him how to wrap presents at an early age and he could now do it blindfolded. Clark opened the fridge pulling out a jug of Martha's home made lemonade. "You want a drink Harry?" Clark asked. Harry nodded in agreement.

Clark sat back down, handing Harry a glass, "Lana was here?" Harry asked.

Clark nodded, "She left just before you arrived." He frowned slightly, "I'm surprised you didn't pass her."

"I took a… shortcut, to get here." Harry said.

Clark nodded, guessing what Harry meant by shortcut. "She wasn't here for long. She just, just wanted a lock of hair for a scrapbook she's making for Chloe."

Harry nodded. Whilst he sensed there was something more about Lana's visit than Clark said, getting in between the tangle of a relationship between Clark and Lana was something most, including Clark and Lana, tried to avoid. Harry decided changing the subject was for the best, "Barn looks good." He said as he took a drink.

Clark sighed in frustration, "Lois steamrolled in and took control. She promised she wouldn't destroy the barn."

Harry laughed again, "It'll be fine. It's not like she'll burn the barn to the ground or anything." Clark shot him a look that said that he clearly doubted that, causing Harry to laugh again. "She's knows you have that guy coming later from… where was it?"

"Princeton." Clark said.

"Right, she knows that guys coming and she wouldn't mess that up."

"I suppose." Clark conceded. "Hey, you put any thought into what University you want to go to?"

Harry shook his head, having no desire to further his education after high school. With what he'd received in Pensieve Learning he already had an extra two years education. That added with Marauder Industries, he had no need or desire to learn for 2 more years. He'd still not told his friends though. It surprised him that Chloe hadn't found out, especially due to MI being newsworthy these days as it continued to slowly rise.

He was self educating himself though in the world of business during the long nights that he spent sitting with nothing to do. He was hopeful that by the time the year ended he would be caught up to date on the four years business education he could get at Met U.

"Not much," Harry answered vaguely. "But I'm looking."

"Any idea what you want to do yet?" Clark asked. "If anything." He amended, remembering Harry's earlier statement.

"Not really." Harry said. "But I know I'll find something."

Clark nodded. Harry knew that Clark intended to take care of the farm and was looking to do a course in history or something similar just to get a further education. With that as well as the football scholarship he was almost guaranteed to get, he knew what he wanted. Clark just nodded, expecting Harry's answer. They spent the next few hours just chatting, waiting for the girls to turn up for the party.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Several hours later Harry stood around in Clark's barn waiting for the very late guest of honour to arrive. Clark's barn was now packed with people, but true to her word, Lois had kept everything low-key, despite the fact that she was missing as well. The guests continued to mingle, shooting looks at the doors every so often, getting slightly impatient but entertaining themselves by eating the mountain of food that had been laid out.

Harry had now been pacing backwards and forwards for 20 minutes, resisting the urge to try track them down. In his experience, people being this late usually meant an attack or that they were dead. The only think stopping him from tracking down Lois, Lana and Chloe was him constantly reminding himself that these people were not in the middle of a civil war and that he had no reason to worry.

It wasn't an especially comforting though.

Harry watched this evenings host, Clark, wander around, keeping the peace between the large group of people. The way he shot glances at the door every so often showed he was getting worried as well. Harry watched him try to call Lois' mobile phone again. She wasn't answering.

"Hey, Jason," Clark said to his coach and Lana's boyfriend. "Do you know where the girls are? They were supposed to be here an hour ago."

"No, I've not been able to reach Lana all day," Jason said. Thankfully, after Harry's talk with Lana about not instantly blaming Clark for Jason losing his job she had listened and now believed Clark to be innocent.

Harry heard the doors to the barn open and he and the rest of the crowd turned. When he saw the three people standing in the doorway he relaxed. Lois, Chloe and Lana had finally arrived and they were fine.

Harry moved towards the front of the group only to stop and stare oddly. All three of them looked different beyond belief than they had when he last saw them. First of all, whilst all three girls were all physically attractive in a day to day basis, now, they were stunning. Secondly, they'd seem to have taken a leaf from his book as apart from Lana's red skirt, they were all completely dressed in black.

Chloe had her hair pinned up, wearing a corset style top with knee length skirt and long black leather high heeled boots. She wore a jumper that only covered her back and arms. A large gold necklace hung round her neck. The look was completely different from her usual 'cute' attire, but it worked for her.

He glanced at Lois, who was standing to the right of the group of three. Continuing the gothic like dress theme, she wore a tight strapless back top with a thigh length skirt and boots that reached past her knees. A long black necklace hung round her neck, stopping just before touching her cleavage.

He tore his eyes off of her and looked to Lana. As he looked her up and down he felt the temperature in the room rise. She looked incredible. She was dressed in a single strap top that covered her entire left shoulder, a knee length red skirt and boots to match Lois's. Had Harry slept and thus had dreams, she would more than likely now be what he saw.

He most definitely approved.

In perfect unison they strode forward into the room, showing a confidence and strength he had never seen in the usually strong, confident women. The three reached near the group and stopped. The crowd applauded the birthday girl. She smiled brightly at the group.

"Surprise!" They yelled as one. Clark and Jason remained silent, staring at the girls oddly. The three girls turned towards each other, talking quietly. It was then Harry caught eyes with the Chloe and felt his blood run cold.

Her mind was completely sealed.

He glanced quickly in Lois's direction, feeling his heart rate increase. Her mind was the same. He went to catch Lana's eye, just make sure she was under… whatever this was. He stopped. Something felt odd, yet very, very familiar.

He closed his eyes and concentrated his mind on the three girls and realised what the familiarity was.

Magic.

The three of them were emitting magic, and if his guess was anything to go by, extremely high levels.

Voldemort-high levels.

He took a step back instinctively. This wasn't good. He ran his mind through several different scenarios, trying to work out what had happened. Lana turned, flashing the tattoo on her back and he realised what had happened.

The tattoo meant Transference.

She'd been possessed.

All three of the girls had been possessed.

Harry felt dread set in. He knew from his times in the magical world of two different types of possession, having seen them during his first and second years at Hogwarts. The first kind was the type used by Voldemort to possess Quirrel. For that, it required a willing host and a spirit to possess them. That method traditionally meant that if the being in control of the host left the body, the host died of shock.

The second type was the method used by Voldemort, or more accurately, Tom Riddle, using a Horcrux, or soul piece trapped inside a diary. That method didn't need a willing host and could be stopped by destroying the object that once held the soul.

For the sakes of the lives of the three girls, Harry prayed to whichever deity that seemed to personally watch over him that it was the second method and thus fixable.

Having no idea what to do Harry stepped to the back of the crowd and out of sight, not wanting to engage in a fire fight with three obviously powerful witches. It also wouldn't do for them to detect that he was magical as well. He wouldn't harm them. He refused to.

Chloe split off from the group leaving Lana and Lois standing in front of the still applauding crowd. Clark walked over to Lois and pulled her aside as Lana approached her still shell-shocked boyfriend.

He stood and watched as Lois looked at Clark seductively and Lana turn her back on Jason. Harry felt himself beginning to sweat, having no idea what to do without attacking and harming three of his friends. He knew he had to find the Horcrux, if that was the cause of the problem and destroy it. The problem was that the item could be anything and if the witches possessed any intelligence, they'd hide their Horcrux immediately. The three possessed girls walked over to the refreshment table. Harry ran a hand through his hair and ran through his occlumency exercises, trying to clear his mind and calm himself.

The exercises worked somewhat, but that only lasted seconds as the three girls turned towards the crowd with mischievous smiles. Harry braced himself, ready to start defending innocents.

They each held out their hands towards the crowd, pointing at them with their pinkie and index fingers in the traditional sign of the Devil. Pink light began to glow between the fingers. "Liberate Bestia!" Lana called loudly.

And then Harry felt pain.

He felt pain easily on par with a mental duel with Voldemort as he fought the effects of their magic. He fought the control, trying his hardest to dispel the magic with his mind. He felt blood run down from his nose. He bit his lip hard, trying to stop the scream. Unfortunately the magic was too strong and pain reached such levels that Harry knew he had to get out of there _now._

Drawing as much concentration as he could Harry Apparated himself, careful to avoid splinching, back home. He landed on one knee before falling forward and collapsing unconscious on the floor, blood slowly dripping on to the carpet.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Sunday, November 28th, 2004)_

Harry woke slowly and opened his eyes, instantly regretting it as sunlight streamed through the windows and onto his face. _'What has Voldemort done now?'_ was Harry's first though as he tried to sit up. He rubbed his head and looked around, memories of the previous night hitting him, _'No, not Voldemort,' _he told himself. _'Three of my friends possessed by powerful witches who managed to knock me out for,' _he glanced at his watch and almost gasped, "14 hours?!" he exclaimed. That was _not_ good.

He pushed himself to his feet massaging his head and hissing a parsel spell to rid his headache. He Apparated immediately to just outside the Kent farm and cautiously approached the barn. Hearing silence Harry glanced in. Clothes, including underwear, were littered everywhere and several people were still asleep, most coupled up together in various states of undress. Having expected a slaughter of sorts, he was relived to see that the only thing that appeared to have happened was a wild party.

Odd.

He walked through the barn, looking for any signs of Chloe, Lana or Lois. As he expected, none of the girls were still there. Not having seen Clark either he quickly made his way towards the yellow house. Not even knocking Harry walked into the house, "Clark!" He called, hoping he was around. Receiving no answer he Apparated himself to the alley behind the Talon.

He quickly made his way to the street, pleased to see no damage and no one panicking. Making sure he wasn't seen he Apparated back home and immediately made his way to his magically sealed room.

On his way there he was going over information he had about the possession. Lana had to have been the catalyst, receiving a tattoo from a tome in France. The tome held the same symbol that was imprinted on her back. He searched the room finding a small scrap of paper.

'_Countess Margerite Isobel Theroux?'_

He'd written it down a few months ago after recognising the name of the countess Lana visited. The name rang a bell from his early magical education, but he had no idea who she was or what she had done. Well, he was going to find out now. In the corner of the room was a large book case, holding around 300 books that Harry had taken from his vault or had in his possession before raiding his vaults.

He pulled his history of magic textbooks, from 1st to 5th year from the shelf and sat down crossed legged on the floor and began to read.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After almost two hours of painstaking reading through old dusty, barely touched and frustrating large books, Harry finally found what he was looking for in a third year text book, one on the witch trials.

He read the small profile about noticeable witches and wizards from the time

'_Margerite Isobel Theroux, known more commonly as Countess Theroux was born in the village of __Castelnois de Montmiral in the year of 1582. She was __one of the few witches actually caught during the witch trials of the early 1600's. How she was caught or why she didn't seek to escape from being burnt at the stake are currently unknown._

_She was known as an extremely powerful magic user and aspiring dark witch. Reports of the time state that she was unrivalled in her ability in wandless magic, although due to Ratling's Theory of the Use of Magic stating magic without a wand focused magic is impossible, reports of her abilities are believed to be inaccurate._

_During her rise to power the Countess was believed to be in search of three powerful magical objects of unknown origin or power but was stopped before her goal could be accomplished._

_Before she and two others were burnt, she was said to have prophesised her return by her heir and that she would have revenge on those who wronged her.'_

Harry dropped the book and leaned against the wall behind him. "A prophecy?" he muttered miserably. He _hated _prophecies. Whilst the information hadn't been particularly useful, at least he had something on the witch now.

"She was prophesised to return and has," Harry muttered to himself. "She was said to be searching for three items of power and Clark had one of those stones in his after the prison incident that had the Water symbol. Those stones _have_ to be why she's back now." He stood up and began pacing.

"The book say's she's powerful and that much was obvious, but her friends are as well. What to do, what to do…" Harry continued to pace for another 10 minutes, trying and failing to work out a solution.

Finding nothing he decided on just trying to find the Countess again and just winging it. He seemed to work best in those situations. Leaving the protection of the room, Harry noticed it had now gotten dark outside. Having no idea where to go Harry just Apparate to the centre of town. He closed his eyes and concentrate hard, letting his magic search for anything nearby that held magic.

He stood still, eyes closed for five minutes, constantly searching. Eventually he felt a flare of magic from just down the street. Knowing the Talon was there, Harry took an educated guess and Apparated to the coffee shop. Seeing nothing inside Harry Apparate again to just outside the door to Lana's upstairs apartment and opened the door.

Harry burst through the door to see Lana holding her hand towards Jason who was being levitated into the air, his neck bent at a dangerous angle against the ceiling.

"Countess!" Harry yelled, hoping to catch her off guard and drop Jason. Her concentration reminded however. She turned towards Harry, smirked and thrust her hand towards the window leading out to the street. Jason was launched through the air towards the glass. Acting quickly, Harry cast a strong protection spell on the window, causing Jason to hit it hard but just bounce of and hit the floor unconscious.

Unfortunately for Harry, his spell to save Jason distracted him enough for the Countess to immediatelycast a spell at Harry, flinging him in a similar manner to Jason, her hand aiming at the second window to the street.

Harry flew through the air, unable to act quickly enough to stop himself or protect himself from the fall. He crashed through the glass, feeling the ripping sensation of the glass cutting and piercing his skin before he hit the paved ground hard. The wind was knocked out of Harry and he chocked and gasped, trying to get air back in his lungs.

He rolled to his side, spitting blood onto the pavement and slowly pushing himself to his feet, magic and adrenalin giving him strength to fight through the pain. He saw the Countess looking down on him. She vanished in a swirl of violet light. Purple fire burst into life outside the apartment, causing Harry to duck and wince at the action as glass dug further into his skin. Looking at the fire still burning, Harry read the message,

'_THE BARN MIDNIGHT_

Knowing the likelihood that he would find the three witches before that time, he waved his arm, vanishing the fire from the wall and removing the damage the fire caused. He gritted his teeth and Apparated back into the Talon where Jason was still unconscious. Harry moved towards him, removing the protective spell from the window. He knelt down neck to Jason, "_Enervate."_ Harry muttered, not having the strength to cast silently.

Jason moaned as he woke up, "Lana?" he asked the room.

"It's Harry. What happened?"

Still not fully cognizant Jason continued speaking, "Lana, she's been possessed."

"Did you see what happened to her?" Harry asked, hoping he'd been there when it began.

"She bought a book," he said, trying to sit up. Harry slowly helped him. "She was researching a 17th century witch She tracked down her spell book, and when she touched her hand to the page…"

"She has a book?" Harry asked quickly. This was sounding more and more like his second year.

"Yeah, bought it off eBay. We need to destroy that book Harry."

"_Stupefy," _Harry muttered, stunning the man. He obliviated the last few minutes from his mind and set him down carefully. He had the information he needed.

The Countess had definitely made a Horcrux.

Harry shivered at the word, hoping he'd seen the last of them after destroying Voldemort's third and final soul cage.

Knowing he had to wait a few hours. He called an ambulance for Jason and Apparated home.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated to the Kent barn at 5 minutes to midnight and walked in slowly, wincing from the pain of being thrown out a second story window. He had tried to remove the glass by summoning, only to discover that doing so hurt considerably more than leaving it where it was and that the glass did more damage coming out than it did going in. As much as he loathed himself to admit it, getting medical help after this sounded good. He clutched his side, the most painful part of him, due to his attempted summoning of an especially large piece of glass.

He'd thought about calling Clark and securing his help, but this was a matter of magic, and his alone to deal with. Whilst he had somewhat agreed to an alliance with Clark, this was his specialty.

He walked into the barn looking around for any sign of the witches. He turned a corner and saw the three of them standing waiting for him, Lana had the front of the group with Lois and Chloe flanking her. "You're just in time." The Countess said pleasantly as she caught sight of Harry.

"What have you done to them?" Harry asked, having no patience for pleasantries.

The three witches smiled. The one possessing Lois pointed her hand at him, using the sign of the Devil again, "Surgite!" She called. A wagon wheel lifted off the ground and slammed hard into Harry's chest. Harry had thankfully been able to cast a quick spell that absorbed some of the wheels strength but he was still thrown backwards by the force. He slammed into a support beam behind him and screamed. He'd been injured enough to know that he had at least two broken ribs. He hoped the internal damage was kept minimal. Having managed to slow the wagon wheel down slightly and weakening the impact he pulled himself to his feet.

The three witches took a few steps towards him. "Release them." Harry told the Countess, not backing down, despite the pain he felt.

The three of them laughed, "So you still have more, sorcerer?" Harry glared at her. She smiled back, "This is quite exciting."

The witch possessing Chloe smiled and stepped forward. She held out both hands and brought them together, "Incede!" she called.

Several farm tools rose into the air and threw themselves at Harry. Knowing that should these items hit him they'd probably kill him Harry reacted quickly. With a sweep of his left hand Harry banished a pair of pliers, an electric saw blade and a wrench to his left, sending them crashing through the barn wall.

They all looked impressed, "You know of wandless magics?" The Countess asked. "Impressive."

"I don't want to have hurt you. Leave them!" Harry shouted, doubting his ability to stop them. He'd been trained to hurt and kill the enemy, not just incapacitate. There was still he could do here. He looked for the book Jason spoke of, but saw nothing.

"Stupefy! Stupefy! Stupefy!" Harry called, channelling as much magic as he could into the quickly fired spells.

"Defensor!" The Countess called just as fast and the stunner dissipated against the amethyst shield that appeared in front of her.

The Countess appeared to have had enough games, "Evertere!" She called. This time, no object was thrown to defend against. Instead, Harry again felt pain and was lifted of the ground, unable to move. "But mine are more so!"

The pain continued and Harry struggled to remain conscious, "We have travelled through the ages to complete our quest, outwitting death itself! We will not be outdone by a lone wizard!"

Harry blacked out.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry blearily opened his eyes in confusion noticing sunlight outside and wandering what happened. That was when he felt the pain return. He tried to move his arms, but he could feel the cold touched of chains around his wrists. He looked up and saw his arms tied above his head. He blinked a few times, focusing his vision and looking at the three women standing in front of him.

"He awakens." The Countess remarked.

Harry struggled with the chains, but they were too tight. He tried Apparating but something was blocking it. The thought of vanishing in a bolt of lightning was also out. The girls were too close and would most likely die during his escape attempt.

"What are you?" The Countess asked with a frown.

Harry gritted his teeth against the pain, "You answered that before."

She shook her head and stepped towards him, "No. You have the powers of a sorcerer, but you are more. What are you?" she asked again.

Harry didn't answer, not knowing the answer to the question. He looked Lana in the eye, trying his only option. He pushed, hard, into her mind trying to find Lana's presence and wake her. He felt a brush back against his mind and the Countess looked away sharply.

She took another step closer to him, "You are skilled in mind magics, sorcerer, but should you try that again I will rip out your eyes." She said dangerously, running a fingernail down his cheek, cutting deeply into his face and brushing the side of his left eye as she did. Harry managed not to scream but he could feel the blood running down his face. He looked down at her, noticing his shirt had been ripped open, displaying the hideous wounds he'd suffered at the hand of Voldemort and that Lana had a scorch mark on her chest. Her skin was healed perfectly, but the top was singed, showing her stomach.

"We tried stripping you of you power sorcerer but something stopped us. What was it?" The Countess asked dangerously. Harry had the feeling very few people refused to answer her back during her days. It made him seriously wonder how she ever got caught.

"I don't know." Harry said with difficulty.

He was thankful that she seemed to believe him. She changed subjects quickly, "The three stones of power. You know of them, don't you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Harry lied, having a pretty good idea what they were. He tried to pull himself free of the chains again. He could feel three minds probing at his and the pain he was in, mixed with their combined powers was slowly wearing down his shields. They'd be able to tell when he lied to them.

The witch possessing Chloe stepped forward, "You've done more than hear of them. You've touched one."

"We can feel it." The third witch said through Lois.

"Who are you two then?" Harry asked Chloe and Lois, hoping to stall for time. He was on the Kent's property, hopefully Clark would turn up.

"You know of me?" The Countess asked.

"Countess Margaret Isobel Theroux, burnt at the stake in 1604." Harry answered. "On a _very_ far part of my family tree your name is there."

The three looked surprised. Isobel moved towards him, looking into his eyes. She didn't seem as murderous as before, "We are kin?" she asked him.

Harry shrugged, "Strictly, no. We both come from a family called the Potter's. I'm the direct branch, you and Lana are centuries off." Harry felt his adrenalin begin to lower and the pain began increase. He would do what he could to stall for time.

"I know from Lana's memories that you are not called 'Potter.'" Isobel said with a frown.

"Change my name," Harry said. "European magical government isn't too happy with me there. France has me pegged as a Dark Lord you know." He hoped by mentioning how her home country was after him would endear him to her, stalling for time. He was beginning to wish he'd brought Clark.

She looked amused, "Yet for a Dark Lord you did not fight back when we attacked you." Isobel stated. She ran a hand down his chest and the pain vanished. Harry knew enough about medicinal magic to know that she hadn't fixed the damage, merely removed the pain and probably put his body in a temporary stasis.

"The girls you've possessed are my friends," Harry said through gritted teeth. "I wouldn't hurt them."

Isobel laughed, "How noble. I know you especially wouldn't want to harm me."

"Why's that?" Harry asked, trying to Apparate again.

She laughed, "Lana knows you have feelings for her. She sees how you look at her. You wouldn't harm her and so you won't harm me."

Harry gritted his teeth but said nothing.

She looked even more amused, "I can see why she likes you." Isobel ran a finger down the side of his face that she hadn't marked. The touch was softer now; seductive. "Will you tell us what we want to know?"

"I don't know where the stone is." Harry answered, trying to shake off the warm feeling of her finger on his cheek.

"Perhaps not, but you have your suspicions." Isobel said again.

Whilst Harry did have a very vague idea where the stones _might _be, he wasn't going tell her. Unknown artefacts in the hands of people like the Countess were never good. He'd only just finished destroying one person who thought they were immortal; he didn't want to have to add to that list.

Harry remained silent, staring at her defiantly again to her amusement. Trying to push the subject away from the stones Harry looked past her and towards Chloe and Lois, or at least the girls in control on them. "And you girls are?"

The one possessing Chloe answered first, "I am Madelyn."

The one possessing Lois smiled seductively at him, "And I am Brianna."

"Harry," Isobel said bringing his attention back to her. She was standing closer to him now. "We will find out what we want." With that, she took another step towards him and kissed him softly. Harry only just stopped himself from licking his lips as she moved back slightly

"_Demonstra_," Isobel whispered and leaned in to kiss him again, tilting her head to the right in order to get a better lock on his lips. The kiss was soft but more passionate than the first. He kissed her back, only slightly aware that no spell had been cast to force him to do this. He leant into the kiss as much as his chains would allow.

Harry felt her tongue run across his lips and he opened his mouth without a second thought. As her tongue brushed the inside of his mouth he moaned, no longer caring that Lana was possessed, or the fact that he was likely bleeding internally and dying slowly. After only a few seconds she slowly pulled away and Harry moaned slightly in disappointment, his eyes still closed. He'd kissed a few girls before but he'd never enjoyed it that much before. Isobel took several steps back and licked her lips having clearly enjoyed the kiss as well.

He felt his back straighten and against his will his mouth opened and a purple mist slowly flowed out. Realising this was part of the spell she cast after the first kiss he braced himself. The mist rose up into the air and he heard is voice as if flowing with the winds whisper, "_The cave."_

He frowned, that had been the place he was sure the stones would be. Every time he'd been in there he sensed a powerful force hidden in the walls although he'd never been able to pin point the exact point of origin.

The three girls smiled at the voice, "The cave. Of course." She walked up to Harry again, "You have been most helpful." She kissed him once again. "We could kill you now but I have enjoyed our time together. We shall return once we have the stone and we shall see if you are any more cooperative."

She moved over to her friends and flicked her hand up, "Abige!" She incanted and they disappeared in a flash of purple light. Immediately the pain returned and Harry screamed. His chest felt as though a dozen knives had simultaneously driven themselves into him. He felt the glass that was imbedded deeply into his back again. He bit his lip and managed to silence himself, surprised that he hadn't passed out. Breathing heavily Harry looked upwards and called for lightning to fall on him, destroying everything near him, not to transport. The bolt of lightning cut through the barn roof and struck the ground where he stood.

The support beam holding him cracked and Harry fell to the ground as his chains were released. He screamed again as he fell to the floor, the glass shredding his back. He slowly pushed himself to his feet, struggling to breathe. He knew he needed to contact Clark now, but the fact that this was magic in nature stopped him. This was _his _fight, not Clark's. He knew what he had to do. If he could get near the book Jason said Isobel carried he could stop this.

He slowly walked outside using anything he could reach to support himself. He made it into open air, still clutching his ribs. He knew he'd punctured a lung. He knew he was in trouble. He called upon his power again. Thunder cracked and he disappeared in a bolt of lightning.

He stumbled and fell as he landed in a small black crater. He screamed again, biting his lip to try and silence himself. He coughed up more blood. He barely noticed that the amount of blood that came out each time was increasing. Seeing the entrance to the cave he pushed himself up and slowly walked in. His side was bleeding quite badly now.

He pushed his way through the cave to where he knew the 'Water' symbol was painted. As he neared it his attention was immediately brought to the fact that one part of the wall was glowing white. He neared it and noticed that part of the wall was gone, leaving an entrance to another part of the cave, a part that hadn't been there before.

He took a deep breathe and walked towards the light, silencing his feet as he went. Harry stepped towards it and after a flash of light reappeared in another room, obviously a hidden part of the cave system. Immediately he heard soft voices. "Take it, Isobel. Lead us to glory." A voice belonging to Chloe said excitedly.

Harry cast a weak disillusionment charm on himself, the best he could do in his current state. It would barely hide him but it might give him the seconds he would need if Isobel was carrying her book. "Two of the stones," Isobel whispered in reverence. "How I have dreamed of this moment."

Harry walked slowly round a corner in the cave and entered a room with a large stone altar in the centre. The three witches were standing on the far side to him and were staring at the centre of it eagerly. They hadn't sensed his approach.

Harry felt his vision blacken for a second and he realised that he was losing consciousness. Thankfully Isobel was carrying an open leather bound book in her hands. He knew he only had one chance and prayed the book she was carrying was her Horcrux. He resisted the urge to scan it with his Omni-lenses to make sure, fearful of being caught.

He took a deep breathe, concentrating as much as he could. He took a step forward and thrust his right arm forward before pulling it back sharply. In her surprised Isobel let the book slip from her grasp as it soared towards Harry. She looked up at the distorted pattern of Harry but she couldn't act fast enough. Thrusting his hand forward again he fired a concentrated bolt of lightning towards the book, the same type he had used against Voldemort. He knew Horcruxes were notoriously difficult to destroy; only basilisk venom and fiendfyre were known to work, but he was confident he had a third method.

Lightning struck the book and the cave lit up, both from the lightning and the spell book as it was burnt to ashes. "No!" Isobel screamed. Harry knew he'd succeeded. There was a second flash of light and Harry found himself and the girls back in the known part of the cave. The entrance to the altar room was closed. He saw the girls beginning to regain consciousness and carefully approached.

They looked around in confusion. "Why are we lying in the dirt?" Lois asked the room, not noticing Harry.

Chloe looked down at her clothes and her eyes almost bulged from her head, "And what the hell are we wearing?"

Lana turned to the sound of footsteps and saw a badly injured Harry, "Harry?" Lana asked worriedly.

"Lana?" Harry managed to say. He looked her in the eyes and smiled. Her mind was open again. He opened his mouth to speak but he began to cough again, blood splattering his hands. He fell to one knee, relief setting in and the adrenalin quickly leaving his system. The three girls got up quickly, rushing to his side.

"Harry, what happened?" Lana asked panicking as she knelt beside him.

"You were… possessed." Harry coughed again, his eye's losing focus. "Hurts." Harry managed before the blackness took him.

"Harry!" Was the last thing he heard before he hit the ground, unsure of who was calling for him.

**AN:** _And Voila! Hope that was fun. So people know, I have a reason for Harry getting his arse handed to him here for those that are opposed to it. Should he encounter the Countess again… well, that'll be more an even fight._

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Thanks to everyone that voted in my poll._

_Review and suggest things… I look forward to that._


	15. Aftermath

**AN:** _Thank you everyone for the reviews on the last chapter. It's a lot of fun watching that review counter rise. A few complaints about the 'fight' scene in the last chapter but hopefully the reason explained will be enough to placate those who had a problem with it. I will also mention that he was thrown out of a two story window, through glass, onto concrete before it began… Just sayin'._

_Enjoy and please review._

**Chapter 15 – Aftermath**

_(Monday, November 29th, 2004)_

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

Harry awoke in a warm bed with an annoying constant beeping in the background. His head hurt and he quickly decided that he that beeping noise to stop. Without opening his eyes he concentrated on it and willed it to stop. He wished he hadn't when the beeping seemed to become irritated at him and changing to one long unending beep.

Frowning he willed it to stop again. He heard a small pop and the slight smell of smoke, but he sighed and relaxed again, pleased that the infernal noise stopped. Just as he was lying back down to sleep he was interrupted by the sound of quick footsteps. Despite the warm feeling he had, he opened his eyes and glared at whoever interrupted him.

"Mr. Evans?" The man asked. "Are you alright?" Two people followed him in. He didn't recognise them.

"M'fine now." Harry mumbled, not feeling up to much else. "Stupid machine stopped."

"Well," the man said, clearly surprised at something. "It seems it has." The man moved closer. This time Harry noticed the man wearing a long white coat. It looked familiar.

"Mr. Evans? How are you feeling?" The man asked again.

"Fine." Harry said, trying to push himself up into a seating position. Whilst he wanted to sleep, the man didn't appear to want to leave. He winced as he moved. He lay back down, "Who are you and why are you in my house?" Harry asked, still not Cognizant enough to grasp the situation.

"Mr. Evans," The man said seriously. "My name is Doctor Scanlan. You were injured. You're in the Smallville Medical Centre."

The message that he wasn't home and was somewhere else jolted his memories and the evening's events rushed through his mind, "My friends?" he asked quickly.

The man that Harry now recognised as a doctor held out his hands to stop Harry from getting out of bed, "Your friends are fine Mr. Evans." Harry relaxed slightly. "Miss Lang, Miss Sullivan, Miss Lane and Mr. Kent spent most of the evening in the hospital worried about you." Harry relaxed properly now. "The three girls were quite distressed when you were brought in but calmed down eventually."

"What was wrong with me?" Harry asked, as the pain began to come back to him. He knew he'd most likely be on non-magical pain relief, but Madame Pomphery had once told him that they didn't affect those with magic as well as those that didn't. The pain was manageable so he let it be.

"Numerous things Mr. Evans," The Doctor took a deep breathe, "You had a minor fracture on your left wrist, three broken ribs, bruising on both kidneys, one of your broken ribs pierced a lung and to top it off we removed no small amount of glass your side and back. You have also received several dozen stitches." Harry winced mention of the glass.

"Indeed, Mr. Evans," The Doctor said seriously. "Now, do you remember what happened before you were brought here?"

'_My three best female friends were possessed by a 400 year old Horcrux. They kicked my ass and I used my own magic to destroy it.' _Harry thought to himself. He made a show of thinking hard about what might have happened, "No. All I remember is seeing my friends before waking up here."

The Doctor nodded and made a few notes on his chart. "Very well. Now, Miss Lang said that you had no immediate family we could contact?"

Harry nodded, "Parents are dead."

"Miss Lang indicated as much. Is there anyone you wish us to contact?"

Harry shook his head, whilst he had a medical proxy assigned by the MI medics, he didn't want to call them in. After all, they didn't know who he was yet. "No. How am I doing Doctor?"

"Surprisingly well," he said, glancing at the chart. "Your wrist and ribs have been set, the lung has been repaired and the glass removed. You're healing much faster than we anticipated, but there is nothing immediately wrong with you. You will have a few new scars though. You seem to be collecting them." He placed the chart back at the end of the bed. Harry was pleased the man didn't talk about his scars further.

"I would recommend resting for a bit more Mr. Evans. I'm quite amazed you're awake just now."

Harry just nodded and rested his head again, staring at the ceiling. He took a deep breathe and built up his magic slightly, relining on the innate healing abilities of his magic to repair the damage faster. With nothing else to do he closed his eyes and fell asleep quickly, the first without nightmares in over a year and a half.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Later that day) _

Harry felt himself slowly regain consciousness. He looked around his hospital room. Knowing that he'd fractured his left wrist he flexed his fingers, testing what movement he had. They felt a little stiff. Using his right arm he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He brought his right hand to his left wrist and cast a diagnostic charm Madam Pomphery taught him. It revealed that his wrist was fractured but healing. Not wanting to wait he hissed, "_Ossis consanesco." _A small orange light came from his hand.

He held it in place for half a minute before pulling his hand away. He flexed his fingers again, satisfied that it healed properly. Seeing that his left hand was no longer covered he conjured a plain leather black glove and slid it over his hand.

He looked down at his chest and pulled up his hospital shirt. His ribs were bandaged quite heavily. Harry ran a hand across his side where he knew a large piece of glass had cut him. He counted numerous stitches. He performed the same diagnostic charm on his ribs. They were already near 15 percent healed. He decided to leave them as they were for a few days, as healing them might make the Doctors suspicious.

Continuing his assessment he conjured a small mirror and looked at his face. There were numerous small cuts across his face from the glass no doubt, four stitches on his right cheek, again from glass. The cut from where Lana ran a nail down his face was stitched as well.

Harry leaned against the headboard and sighed; he was beginning to look like Mad-Eye. He truthfully wondered how long it would take for him to finally lose and limb or an eye. At the rate he was going it would be soon.

With a wave of his hand he vanished the mirror. He carefully moved to stand only to stop at the protestation of his ribs. No doubt had he been in Hogwarts Pomphery would have been reading him the riot act. He missed his old healer.

He threw up an intruder charm on the door, closed his eyes and practiced his occlumency exercises.

Two hours later he felt the ward activate. He opened his eyes to see the Doctor Michaels walk in as well as a nurse with a tray of food. "It's good to see you're up Mr. Evans."

They spent the next 20 minutes talking about what he would need to do, when to come back in for check-ups and stitch removal. Harry agreed to all of it, despite it not being necessary with him.

"Now," Doctor Michaels said as he finished his examination, pleased with Harry's progress. "You have three people waiting to visit you. Are you up for visitors?"

Harry nodded, "Please. Send them in when you can."

"Very well Mr. Evans. They'll only have 30 minutes. You still need to be resting."

Harry nodded, knowing better to argue with a Doctor. Harry sat back and began to eat finding himself quite hungry due to not having eaten in what he assumed was about 3 days.

He smiled as Lana, Lois and Chloe walked in, dressed far more appropriately than they had during their possession. Harry somewhat missed that.

"Hey guys." Harry said and set his tray aside, slowly drawing up his legs to allow the girls to sit down on his bed.

They all looked quite nervous which didn't surprise Harry. If they remembered, well, he'd deal with that but if they didn't remember as Harry guessed from what he remembered of their reaction waking up, Lana would have talked with Jason then they probably had a fair idea of what happened and why Harry was in the hospital.

They each greeted him Lana and Chloe sat down on the bed while Lois pulled over a seat, "How are you Harry?" Lana asked.

Harry smiled, pleased to see them back to normal, "My ego's been bruised slightly due to the ass kicking I received, but I've been worse. What about you three? Are you all alright? What do you remember?" He was hoping for nothing as obliviating several days worth of thoughts just wouldn't be possible.

"I think it's safe to say we've all been exorcised." Lana assured him with a smile.

"We don't remember anything" Chloe said. "The last thing Lois and I remember is having a drink with Lana and then after that nothing until we woke up in the cave. Jason said we were possessed?" she half asked, half stated.

Harry nodded, "Yeah," He looked at Lana, "That Countess you were studying has some serious issues." He got a few small smiles.

"What did we do?" Lois asked.

Harry shook his head, "You three did nothing; you weren't in control. The ones controlling you, well," He winced slightly, not really wanting to tell them as they'd probably feel guilty. "You want the details?"

They all looked unsure, "I don't know if I want to know." Lana said softly.

Harry moved his hand towards her and lightly held it, "None of it was you. You were all possessed so you're not allowed to feel guilty."

"All we know is that Lana did a number on Jason, the Kent barn almost burnt down and we found you, or you found us, in the cave." Chloe said.

"Alright," Harry said thinking about his answer. "Well, I heard a loud noise in the Talon and walked in to find the Countess holding Jason up against the roof. I distracted her and she threw Jason against a wall knocking him out and then, well, she threw me out the window." He answered a bit sheepishly.

"You were actually thrown from the window?" Lois asked in shock.

"Yeah."

"I'm amazed you were even conscious after that." Chloe said.

Harry laughed, "I'm tougher than I look." Considering that most people already thought him though, getting up after that fall fit the statement nicely.

"I got up and check on Jason to make sure he was alright." Chloe and Lois snorted. "He woke up to tell me Lana had been possessed and I got a message in fire to meet in the barn. I got there and the three of you were there. We talked for a sec and then the Brianna threw a wagon wheel at me and Madelyn threw some farm tools at me."

"Wait, Madelyn?" Chloe asked.

"Oh, right." Harry said realising that only he would have known there names. "Whilst Lana was possessed by the Countess, Chloe was possessed by a witch named Madelyn and Lois by Brianna."

"They… threw things at you?" Lois asked.

Harry shrugged, "Levitated and banished…. Threw…. Same thing really." Harry reasoned.

"Right," Lois sarcastically muttered. "Completely the same."

Harry ignored the sarcasm; it was just typical Lois. "So, next thing I knew I woke up chained to the barn with my shirt opened. We chatted for a while, Isobel seemed fond of me and they asked about magic stones."

"Magic stones? Not magic beans?" Lois asked with a mocking look.

Harry laughed, imagining the scene in the barn with the witches looking for Bertie Botts Every Flavour Beans. His chest began to hurt and he clutched his ribs, coughing harshly. The girls looked concerned and Harry could tell they were wanting to find a doctor to look at him. He waved his hand, "I'm fine. Really." He stopped and took a few deep breathes.

"Right, not magic beans. I told them I didn't know and we talked again for a while. They then decided to check out the caves. They then disappeared into thin air." Harry said. He had no desire to mentioned the kiss he and Isobel had shared. Whilst it technically wasn't Lana that had done, she'd no doubt feel guilty about it.

He also felt somewhat guilty about how much he enjoyed it.

"What happened in the cave?" Chloe asked curiously.

Harry shrugged, not able to talk about it without revealing his powers, "I got there and you were all on the floor. I remember you three waking up and I guess I passed out then."

"Why didn't you call someone for help?" Lana asked.

Harry shrugged, not able to talk about that either, "Who was I suppose to call? Who would have believed me had I explained?"

Seeing as they didn't have an answer Harry changed the subject. He looked to Lana, "How's Jason? He hit that wall pretty hard."

Lana smiled warmly at him and he felt his face heat up. He was relieved to see that smile again, even though he'd had no _real _problems with Isobel's. "He's fine. His back's a little sore, but he's up and around."

Harry took a drink of water and he remembered something else, "Hey," he said looking a Chloe, "What did you think of what I got you?" he asked, referring to her birthday present. Whilst he didn't think she would be too put out on what he spent, he was curious.

"What you got me?" Chloe asked, looking confused.

"Um… your birthday present?" Harry said, looking at her oddly.

"Oh, well, I've not opened them yet. With everything that happened I've just not gotten around to it."

Harry nodded, remembering something the doctor said to him, "Doctor Michaels said you three spent the evening in the waiting room. You didn't need to, but thanks."

"Don't mention it," Lois said. "Considering we technically put you in here, it only seems fair."

"Any idea what the story around town is?" Harry asked the three girls.

"No one's really sure. Words going around that you were attacked and in hospital, but nothing more than that." Chloe answered.

"Going to write about it in the Torch?" Harry asked, hoping she wouldn't. Word of this reaching the magical government probably wouldn't be good. It would certainly bring attention on to him and he didn't want that.

"No," she said with a shake of her head. "Most people don't believe the wall-of-weird stories I write and I doubt anyone would believe a story about us being possessed by witches. I'm still having trouble believing it myself."

Harry did well not show his relief.

The four continued chatting for a short while, but due to Lois having to get back to Metropolis and Chloe having a deadline – something which Harry had rolled his eyes at due to her always having a deadline. He was left with Lana.

"I wanted to ask, has the tattoo gone?" Harry said when they were alone.

Lana's eyes darkened slight, "No. It's still there." Seeing the look of concern of Harry's face she asked, "Do you think it might happen again?"

Harry frowned, he had still feel a small amount of Lana's mind holding magic the moment he'd looked at her. He sincerely hoped that it was just residual magic left over from the possession, but with the tattoo still there… "I don't know. I'd have been happier if the tattoo was gone, but we can worry about it again if it ever happens."

"But she almost killed you." Lana protested.

Harry laughed, "I've almost been killed by the best, I can handle one witch." Harry stopped immediately as he'd spoken, realising what he'd said.

Lana's eyes widened, "People have tried to kill you before?"

Harry was initially tempted to obliviate the last few seconds from mind. He cut down that thought quickly. He _couldn't_ keep doing that to his friends. The mere thought about using it on Lana made him feel incredibly guilty. He decided then that he'd just have to be more careful and that he wouldn't obliviate his friends, for whatever reason.

"You remembered me talking about that guy who killed my parents?" Harry asked.

"Tom Riddle, right?"

Harry nodded, "When I was 14 he broke out of where he was with a few of his… friends." Harry leant back, resting his head against the wall behind him, "Seems as though he was quite upset that I got away from him and took it personally. At the end of my forth year I was kidnapped." He held out his left arm to Lana and showed her the underside of his left arm, the mark Wormtail had cut him, _'Blood of the enemy, forcibly taken, you will resurrect you foe.' _He thought to himself as he looked at it. "I got this scar before I managed to escape." Harry said quietly. He didn't look up at Lana, just traced his finger along the thick scar that had never properly healed.

Realising that he didn't want to get into this, he shook his head and snapped himself out of his trance and looked back up at Lana. She was looking at him in concern. "Right, well, I met him a few times after that and I usually suffered for it."

"Why wasn't he caught?" Lana asked in concern.

"Despite the fact he was in prison for 13 years he still had friends in high up places, as well as money. However, there's no need to worry about that anymore."

"So that's how you got all your scars?"

Harry nodded, "Every time he found me I escaped and that annoyed him more and more each time." Harry sighed, "Can we not talk about this please?" Harry asked Lana. He was still trying to forget about Voldemort and especially what happened to him during the time he was a prisoner of the Dark Lord's.

Lana smiled, "Sure. Oh I've got something that'll cheer you up," she reached down to the floor and pulled out a red plastic folder. "I have your homework."

Harry just glared at Lana who laughed.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Two days later, against the doctor's wishes, Harry discharged himself from the hospital. He'd decided that the odds of him going on a killing spree were increasing by each day he spent there and by day four he would have levelled the hospital. Of course, he didn't tell the doctor's this as they were already quite worried about all of his scars and the fact that his medical history was all but empty.

After deflecting questions he didn't want to answer, the incredible rate he was healing and the fact that he'd tried and almost escaped out the front door twice the doctor's released him. He'd considered Apparating out, but escaping the hospital confinement was something of a hobby for him and using magic felt like cheating.

He'd tried to put logic to his overall reasoning but failed.

He'd had plenty of visitors during his short stay, ranging from his friends, the Kent's and from random acquaintances from the school. The official story about his stay in the hospital, although where it came from was anybodies guess, was that he had been mugged whilst on one of his known frequent trips to Metropolis. This story had so many flaws in it but to the overall population it made more sense than magic did. Thankfully, most people didn't ask him to recount his 'horrible weekend.'

Speaking with Clark had been awkward though.

_(Flashback)_

_Harry lay in his hospital bed, having just been visited by Mr. and Mrs. Kent. Mrs. Kent, bless her, had brought him some real food instead of the hospital food they kept giving him. He rested his head back on his pillow, staring up at the balloons the girls had bought him. Lana and Chloe had obviously still been feeling guilty about what happened and had been acting a bit odd but they seemed to be getting better slowly._

_Harry looked up as the door opened slowly revealing Clark, dressed in his typical red jacket and blue jumper. It seemed Clark had a drastically short supply of other clothes, given that the red/blue combination was far too common. It was also the first time Clark had visited. "Hey Clark," Harry said, sitting up careful, avoiding distressing his ribs further. His earlier escape attempt hadn't done him many favours and he kept putting off healing them so the doctors didn't become more suspicious of him._

"_Hi Harry." Clark said as he sat down beside the bed. He looked annoyed._

"_What's wrong?" Harry asked._

_Clark sighed and was quiet for a moment. "Why didn't you come find me?" Clark asked._

"_What?" Harry asked, not sure what Clark meant._

"_When Lana, Chloe and Lois were possessed, why didn't you come find me?"_

_Harry winced slightly, knowing that he wouldn't be able to tell the truth, that the incident was magical and therefore nothing to do with Clark. He shrugged, "I guess I didn't think about it at the time," Harry said. "I thought I could handle it myself you know? I under estimated them but I've learned my lesson. Next time, I'll call you."_

_Clark nodded, pleased with the answer. "Where were you during?" Harry asked. "I kept hoping you'd turn up when I was chained to your barn."_

"_I turned up at the Talon about the same time the ambulance arrived for Jason. We couldn't wake him up so I went with them in the Ambulance, in case Jason did wake up," Clark said. "By the time he did and I got home the barn was on fire."_

_Harry winced again, "It's not too damaged I hope?" he asked, hopefully._

_Clark shook his head, "I got to it in time. There's some damage, but nothing I can't fix quickly."_

"_Good," Harry said in relief. "Sorry about that by the way."_

"_What happened there?" Clark asked._

"_I fought them for a moment, they over powered me and chained me up."_

"_You couldn't teleport out?" Clark asked, surprised._

_Harry shook his head, "No. They must have cast a spell on me or around me to stop me from doing that." Harry answered honestly. "I wasn't able to free myself until they left and I had to blow up the supports I was chained to for that to happen."_

"_What did they want with you?" Clark asked._

"_You remember that stone you took from the prison?" Harry asked him. Clark nodded, "They were after three of them." Clark's eye's widened. "They could sense that I'd touched one and they wanted that."_

_Clark looked really worried now, something that told Harry that Clark knew more about the stones Isobel was after than he'd admit._

_(End Flashback)_

The troubling thought of how he'd performed whilst fighting the three witches was weighing heavily on him as well. He'd been so sure of his abilities, so confidant that no one could take him in a magical fight, but it _had_ happened and it had happened so incredibly easily that it left him feeling numb..

He knew why it had happened, not that it made him feel better. Simply, he'd panicked. Having disappeared from the magical world he hadn't expected such an attack. He'd been unprepared and hadn't used more than practical magic since Voldemort's defeat. His training schedule had been reduced to his morning runs and he'd slipped.

The fact that it was three of the four friends he had made in this town that were affected had stripped him of his judgement. He'd lost so many people that he cared for, he knew he couldn't lose more. He'd forgotten that sometimes, the friends had to be stopped at any cost.

He'd forgotten that his battle training involved permanently stopping the aggressor, killing, not containing, and that had almost gotten him killed when his friends were possessed.

After having defeated Voldemort, it was quite a blow to his confidence. It had however taught him that despite the fact that he'd left the magic world, the magic world was still there and thus the threats that came with it. He vowed to continue studying magic in order to defend himself and his friends. He had, two days after getting out of the hospital called Zeke and had him set aside the lower level of Marauder Tower, his headquarters in Metropolis, and set it aside as a room to train in. He'd been told it would take a couple of weeks to set up with the appropriate wards and charms. He'd planned his visit to MI then and vowed to make full use of the training room.

Should the magic world attack him, or Merlin forbid, the Countess return, he would be ready.

Harry exited the Medical Centre and immediately Apparated to the Kawatche caves. The hidden room had been annoying him since he woke up and he wanted to know more. He arrived just outside the cave mouth and walked forwards, making sure not to aggravate his ribs any more than the Apparition had done.

He quickly found the wall that opened. He stood in front of it and closed his eyes, trying to sense anything beyond it. As when he tried this before he could feel an energy coming from the cave, but it surround him, not localized to the entrance. He took a few steps back and pointed his hand towards the cave wall, "Aloharmora." The spell hit the wall and nothing happened. He frowned and tried again, placing more power into the spell, "Aloharmora!" The wall glowed slightly this time but still didn't open.

"How did Isobel do this?" Harry thought out loud. He paced for a few moments thinking of other spells that were used to open entrances. Whilst he knew that he could Apparate to the secret chamber, he knew it was possible to open the door and wanted to get in that way.

He took a few more steps back and tried again with another spell, hoping it wouldn't ring the roof down, "Excido Portas!" His hand flashed white and the spell connected with the wall. The wall flared brightly and he heard the sound of what he could only describe as a wall splitting. He smiled. He'd placed enough power into that specific spell to vaporise a steel door. He was glad it worked.

When the wall finally stopped rumbling he stepped forward as he had done before and entered the altar room. He slowly walked towards it and stood by its side. His eyes opened as he looked into the centre.

The stone he and Clark had retrieved from the prison was in a slot in the middle with another stone just like it. '_Clark knows about this room?' _Harry thought. _'He definately knows more about the stones than I thought.' _He reached forward to pick up the stone but stopped quickly. Something in the back of his mind was telling him that whilst he'd touched the stone before, doing so again would not be in his best interests.

He pulled his hand back and traced some of the symbols. Whilst he knew the symbol for water that was on the stone he knew and the other one that he could guess was fire he had no clue as to what the rest of the symbols meant. He walked around the altar thinking. In the centre there was a slot for three stones; what would happen if all three were united? He didn't know but could only guess that it wouldn't be good.

He'd done so with the Deathly Hallows, but those items were cursed.

Using the Resurrection Stone brought about suicidal thoughts.

Using the Cloak of Invisibility brought trouble to the user whilst the cloak was worn. He could scarcely remember a time when he'd used the cloak that he hadn't run into somebody and almost got caught. He'd officially retired it and it was now just a family heirloom.

The Elder Wand was the worst. He'd used it once and the power had gone right to his head. Yes, the wand amplified his power by at least 3 times, but that much power was too much. He didn't know why Albus had never succumbed to it, maybe it was his advanced years, but Harry was afraid of it.

He remembered his first time using the wand, even though it now felt like a dream, but he had almost killed several of his friends and the only reason he was stopped was due to Albus Dumbledore calling upon the full force of the Hogwarts legendary wards to subdue him.

He hadn't touched the wand since but kept it near him just in case a situation required it.

Even though he had all three Hallows, he still didn't know what uniting them would do or what it would inevitably cost him.

What would happen if these three stones were united then? He didn't want to know. Having seen enough of the cave he left via the entrance and closed the door. He Apparated home, having no idea what the next few days would bring.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Next Chapter - Boggart**


	16. Boggart

**AN:** _New Chapter! Yay! Sorry for the delay but my writing has dropped considerably. After watching all 7 seasons of BtVS and A:ts I've had too many Harry/Buffy xover ideas running through my head to concentrate on this. I have the concentration span of a jellybean at times. Sorry. I'm trying though._

_Thanks to everyone who voted in my poll. Lana won with Kara close in second. As much as I wanted to use Kara as well for a 'ship, it won't happen. And no, the ideas of Harry/Lana/Kara… not gonna happen._

_I've created another poll for the HP/BtVS xover I'm slowly writing, so if you want to vote again, please do. I'm really looking for suggestions._

_Enjoy…_

**Chapter 16 – Boggart**

_(Saturday, December 4th, 2004)_

It had been three days since Harry had escaped Smallville Medical Centre. His friends apparently had had quite a busy time whilst he was confined to bed. Lana had told him that Lex had been the one that had gotten her boyfriend Jason fired from Smallville High. She'd told him the reasons that Lex said he did so, but Harry doubted them. Sure, it _was_ improper for a student to date a teacher, but due to Jason having come to Smallville to be with Lana, the moral dilemma was a bit grey. Harry suspected Luthor had other things in mind.

Lana had also met Jason's mother and admitted being freaked out by her.

Clark had had the busiest last few days. The day after Harry had returned home the news had reported that Lex Luthor was being charged for murder. Clark, playing the hero had investigated, with the help of the miraculously healed Lionel Luthor, who Harry had only just found out had a terminal liver disease, clear Lex's name. Harry had gotten the full story, including abilities used from Clark the day afterwards.

It was three days later that he found himself outside the Talon. Whilst not a major coffee drinker like so many people, it was a warm, pleasant place to relax and most of his friends spent a good deal of time in there.

He walked through the Talon doors to find it moderately busy. His ribs stung slightly. Whilst they were almost healed, they still hurt every once in a while. Whilst he had wanted to heal them himself, something that was just on the edge of his healing ability, everyone knew he'd broken ribs and some people, mainly Chloe, would notice if he felt no pain. No stranger to pain and his ribs not being too bad, Harry just left them alone.

He'd just made it to the counter when he heard a crash and a scream from behind him. Pivoting quickly, Harry prepared himself for whatever was happening. Before he could react he caught sighed of Jason falling through the air from the top of the stairs. The spell '_Arresto Momento' _was on his lips, but the fall was too short for the spell to have any chance. Jason crashed into a table below him which gave in under his weight. Harry was by his side immediately.

"Jason!" Lana shouted from the top of the stairs.

Harry tried to wake Jason but he was non-responsive. Harry felt his pulse, noticing that it was beating extremely fast for someone who was unconscious. "Call an ambulance!" Harry ordered to the crowd of people gathering around looking on curiously. When he saw someone pull out a mobile phone and dial '911' Harry turned back to Jason.

Lana ran down the stairs and knelt down by Harry and her boyfriend. "What happened?" she asked Harry urgently.

Harry shook his head, "Don't know, just heard a crash and saw him fall. His heart rates through the roof though." Harry glanced towards the Talon door, impatiently looking for the paramedics. Apparating Jason seemed like the best idea, but he wasn't going to try that with so many witnesses.

Lana put a hand on Jason's chest, feeling his heart. "Jason," Lana called quietly to her boyfriend, hoping her voice would waken him. "Jason, can you hear me?" she called again, rocking him gently with tears in her eyes. Harry moved over to Lana and put and arm across her shoulders.

"He'll be fine." Harry assured her gently, hoping he was right.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Unfortunately, when the Doctor's had had a chance to examine Jason, Harry's prognosis had potentially been wrong. What they had said had in no way reassured Lana. At this point, he would lucky to survive to the next day. Lana sat by Jason's bed, holding his hand and stroking his face. Not wanting to watch Lana pet Jason he'd moved himself outside. Hearing footsteps he turned to left and saw Chloe and Clark.

"How is he?" Chloe asked as they looked through the glass window of the hospital room. Lana remained oblivious to them.

"Not so good," Harry answered with a quick glance towards Lana and Jason. "His heart is racing and his blood pressure is too high. The Doctor's are struggling to get either of them down."

"Isn't that a little odd for someone who's unconscious?" Chloe asked.

Harry nodded, "Basically, they're saying he's locked in some sort of night-terror. They have no idea what's causing it, but know enough to say that if they can't do something soon he's going to have a heart attack." He glanced back into the room, "Lana's not taking it too well."

"How was he before this happened?" Chloe continued to question.

"Lana says she didn't notice anything odd."

"You think she's lying?" Chloe asked with a raised eyebrow.

Harry shook his head, "No, no. I didn't mean it like that. As far as she's aware he was fine seconds before this happened."

The door opened and Lana walked out, wiping her eyes, "Hey Lana. Harry explained what happened. How're you holding up?" Chloe asked, softly.

"I'll be fine when he wakes up," she said determinately.

"Well, let us know if there's anything we can do to help, okay?"

Lana nodded in appreciation, "They need his insurance card. It's, um, it's in my apartment. Could you guys go get it for me? I don't want to leave his side."

Chloe was about to nod when Harry spoke first, "How about Clark and I go and Chloe can stay here with you?"

Lana nodded again. "Thank you Harry."

Harry nodded, "We'll be back soon."

The two girls walked back into the room and sat down next to Jason. "Shortcut?" Harry asked Clark the moment they were alone.

Clark nodded, "Alright."

Harry placed a hand on Clark's shoulder, and using as much care as he could to be silent, Apparated from the hospital along with Clark. They both landed inside Lana's apartment by the door.

Clark looked quite disturbed by the feeling of apparition. "That's what doing that feels like?" he asked.

"Like being squeezed through a small tube?" Clark nodded and they set off to find the insurance card. "The more it's done the better it feels." Harry said picking through the apartment. "I barely even feel it now."

Harry continued looking for the insurance information. Not hearing any movement from Clark he turned around inquiringly. Clark was standing next to several framed pictures and was holding a silver one in his hand. Harry couldn't see the photo but knew enough to guess it was one of Jason and Lana, "Struggling with it?" Harry asked, knowing that he was beginning to struggle with the same thought.

"I'm past that." Clark said, obviously not meaning it. He put the picture down and noticed Harry looking at him with a raised eyebrow. Relenting, he continued, "I could've used more time to get use to it, you know?"

Harry nodded, "I know what you mean, but things that hurt, you don't get time to ease yourself into them. They hit you hard and fast and you just have to roll with it."

Clark looked at him with something akin to comprehension, "Is that what you do?"

Knowing that Clark was talking about the loss of his friends Harry just nodded, not wanting to speak about it. He opened Jason's backpack and started looking through it for the ID card, "Yeah, something like that." Finding Jason's PDA he pulled it out and turned it on, now no longer looking for the card, but for a reason why Jason was ill. "I had the option to just give up afterwards." He tapped the screen a few times, looking for the schedule Lana had once mentioned in a conversation that Jason kept. "But in the end I had to realise that it happened, and I just had to live with it and continue onwards," he shot a quick look at Clark. "Not get stuck looking in the past."

"I suppose I should just accept it, shouldn't I?" Harry didn't answer the rhetorical question. "I had my chance and I blew it. I need to move on." Harry just nodded.

"Oh," Harry said in surprise as he found what he was looking for on the PDA. "Jason was at LuthorCorp this morning."

"Lana didn't mention that?" Clark asked in surprise.

Harry shook his head, "No, and I don't think Jason did either. Lana said was that he was out this morning and I heard no lie in that." He turned off the PDA and put it back in the back. "Think we should take a look? You're friends with Luthor junior after all."

Clark nodded, "Once we find the insurance card."

Now having somewhere else to go, Harry just summoned the card to his hand, thankfully, out of sight of Clark.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After a quick stop off at Smallville Medical Centre to hand over the details to Lana, Clark drove Harry over to LuthorCorp. Harry had a feeling of unease the moment they began to walk around. There was nobody there; no personnel and no security. Harry continued to follow Clark, looking around for any one else.

"Should this place be so quiet?" Harry asked Clark who was also looking around oddly.

"No," Clark said with a shake of his head. "From what I remember, this place should be full about now."

They reached a security gate. Clark moved towards it but with a thought Harrd unlocked it. Clark shot a questioning look at Harry.

"It was electric. I simply told it to open." Harry said. His ability to do such things was becoming a lot easier but only when there weren't a lot of electrical connections around. In his unease he'd forgotten that he had made no mention of his electricity/lightning related gift.

Clark just nodded, despite not understanding what Harry was talking about. The two of them continued through onwards, "Where do you think everyone is?"

Harry shrugged, "Not sure, but I'm going covert whilst you talk with Lex. I'll see you later." With that Harry cast an invisibility charm on himself and set off at a quicker pace through the corridors. He kept walking through an endless maze of tunnels, still not finding anything or anyone. After walking through the tunnels for over 5 minutes without noticing anything significant Harry was beginning to get a headache. After 10 minutes, his head was pounding and Harry was fed up. Taking one last look behind him, he Apparated back home and sank down onto his couch.

Trying to will his headache away, Harry closed his eyes and attempted his occlumency exercises.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry opened his eyes and hour later, headache free. Checking his watch he'd only been sitting down for 20 minutes. He stood up, stretching, wincing as his ribs pulled tightly across his chest. Wanting to know what Luthor junior had to say Harry stood up and Disapparated from his house to the Kent's. As he Apparated on his usual spot he looked up at the Kent house and froze in horror.

The Dark Mark.

The Dark Mark above the smouldering ruins of the Kent home.

Without a second thought he raced towards the house, forgetting momentarily that he could Apparate. He ran through the destroyed door and into the kitchen, only to freeze again.

Martha and Jonathan Kent were dead, equal looks of horror on their face.

"Clark!" Harry called desperately. Hearing nothing he ran through the remainder of the house. He found nothing. Now scared out of his mind for his friends Harry Apparated back to the Medical Centre, not stopping at the Dark Mark above the hospital, the building's burning around him or the screaming, panicking people. His only thought was getting to Lana and Chloe.

He saw spell fire a head of him and began to run faster, missing the Death Eater coming from room behind him.

"Stupefy!" The gravelly voice called, catching Harry in the back before he could react.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry woke, remembering being hit with a stunning spell. The room was dark and he could barely see his hands. He felt himself sitting in a chair. He tried to stand, only to find that he couldn't move. He pulled again harder, his hands still not moving. He tried Apparating, only for it to fail. "Alohamora!" Harry whispered furiously. He didn't feel his magic react. "Alohamora!" Harry tried to cast again. Deciding that his magic didn't work and knowing he had been in this situation before he drew his lightning power to the surface and let off one powerful shock wave, the same method he had used when freeing himself from his friends when they were possessed less than a week ago.

He'd just released the powers when he knew he'd made a mistake. He screamed and screamed as the electricity poured back into his own body. What felt like hours but was only seconds Harry felt the pain die down to a somewhat manageable level.

Lights flickered on above him. He closed his eyes and looked down, unable to use his hands to protect his eyes from the blinding light. He opened his eyes slowly, still looking down. He saw he was sitting in a metal chair with his feet placed in a tin basin filled with water. He realized quickly that that was what had caused his pain.

"Welcome Harry Potter." A voice hissed from a few feet in front of him.

Harry's head snapped up quickly, cracking in the process. _'It can't be!' _Harry thought desperately. His eye's adjusted to the light and Harry saw the figure of his nightmares step forward.

Lord Voldemort had returned.

He stepped forward and Harry caught sight of 30 or so masked Death Eater's standing behind him.

"No," Harry whispered. "No, you're dead. I killed you!" Harry shouted desperately.

Voldemort laughed and his Death Eater's followed, "You truly believe you could kill me Harry Potter? After all I had done to become immortal, do you truly believe I could be killed?" he asked.

"I destroyed your Horcruxes! You're dead!" Harry continued to shout.

"No," he hissed quietly, even though everyone heard his words clearly. "I am far too powerful to be killed by a mere boy. You destroyed three pieces of my soul." He took a step closer to Harry. "There were seven."

"No," Harry whispered again. "This isn't real." He said, trying to convince himself. "Jason is suffering from a night-terror like attack. I'm experiencing the same. You aren't real!" he shouted at Voldemort.

"Not real am I?" Voldemort asked amused. "Then we shall see." He slowly pulled his wand, 13 ½ inches, yew, from a pocket on his black robes and aimed it at Harry, "Crucio!" he hissed. Harry's muscles tensed as his nerves felt as though they'd caught fire. He tried to stop himself from screaming but having already been hurt since waking up, he couldn't stop it.

He screamed and screamed until he wished for death, wished for a life without pain. Just at the point when he felt his mind was about to snap, the spell was cancelled. Harry's head slumped down on his chest as he breathed deeply and harshly. He knew he was defeated. He knew this was real. This wasn't a hallucination. He'd experienced dozens of them through the years and none had hurt this much.

"Do you believe me real now?" Voldemort asked Harry, his voice mock-affectionate.

"You're just going to play around with me again?" Harry asked Voldemort, doing his best to disguise the pain he was feeling. "Not going to let me duel you, or are you too scared that I'll put you down again?"

Voldemort and his Death Eaters laughed again, "Oh no Harry, I'm just getting started." He turned around to face his Death Eaters. "Fenrir, bring them in." he commanded.

"Let me go!" a female voice shouted. Harry looked up again, despair overwhelming him. A tear fell down his face. They had Lana.

He looked at the other prisoners the masked Death Eaters were dragging in. He already knew who they were bringing it, but it didn't lessen the blow. Lana, whose wrist and ankles were chained together, was thrown to the floor 10 ft in front of him, followed by Lois, Chloe and Clark. Harry could see tears running down both girls faces, as well as looks of determination on Lois and Clark. "Leave them alone!" Harry roared, finding his voice.

He was surprised to see Clark with the group, but that died quickly as he saw the green glow of a meteor rock stuck to his chest. "Let them go Voldemort!"

Voldemort smiled again, "And why should I do that Harry?"

"Harry…" He looked down to see Lana looking at him. The look in her eyes almost killed him. "Help us…" she whispered

"I'll do whatever you want, just leave them!" Harry shouted, getting desperate. Tears ran down his cheeks.

Voldemort laughed again, sending chills down his spine, "I want you to die Harry, and you will, whether you wish it or not. So you see, you have nothing I want."

Voldemort looked down at Lana and Harry's blood ran cold. "Get on you knees girl." He hissed. Lana, who was still chained together couldn't move enough to. Voldemort hissed in frustration, leaned down, grabbed her hair and pulled hard. She screamed.

"Stop!" Harry roared at him. Voldemort merely smirked. He pulled Lana to her knees and walked around to face her, though careful not to block Harry's view of her. "Bow before me girl and become my slave and I shall let you live to serve the glorious Lord Voldemort!"

Lana glared at him through a curtain of blood stained dishevelled brown hair, "Go to hell!" she snapped at him.

Voldemort smiled down at her, "Then you shall suffer!" he hissed. "Crucio!"

Lana screamed and Harry felt his heart and soul break as it had when he had watched Ron and Hermione die. "NO!" Harry screamed, pulling at his restraints. He concentrated his powers of lightning again and pushed it forward towards Voldemort. He screamed as the water shocked him again. He kept pushing and pushing, hoping any of the power would hit Voldemort.

After a minute the pain became too much and he stopped. He glanced towards Voldemort. He was untouched and Lana lay twitching at his feet. Voldemort laughed. "You see how futile it is to defy me Harry?" Voldemort fingered his wand, "I killed your parents and your pathetic friends. And now I shall kill your new friends, as a lesson that no one can run from me."

Harry gritted his teeth, trying to plan. "You're one to talk! You can't even face me like a man! The only way you could beat me is having me chained down! Release me and fight me properly!" Harry shouted.

Voldemort just smiled back, "I do believe we tried that before Harry and you ran like the coward that you are."

"Fight me you son of a bitch!" Harry roared, straining against his restraints again.

Voldemort hissed in frustration. He looked down at the four injured prisoners. After a moments deliberation he pointed his wand a Chloe, "Avada Kedavra!"

The killing curse burst from Voldemort's wand and struck Chloe in the back. Her body became limp. "No!" Harry screamed, unable to believe that another of his friends was dead at the hands of this monster.

"Will you watch you tongue around me now?" Voldemort hissed.

Harry remained silent, but glared hard at Voldemort. His hands began to glow. He winced as he felt the power touch the water covering his feet.

"Why not just end this now Voldemort?"

"Why? Because we are just getting started. You cheated me out of my defeat last time with your little tricks, and now I have the upper hand. I will destroy your mind before you die." He walked up and down alongside the prisoners. The silence was only broken by the sobs and moans of pain from Lana, Lois and Clark.

Voldemort stopped beside Clark and turned back to Harry, "This one," he said, pointing his wand at Clark. "This one impressed me. He was able to stop some of my most powerful Death Eaters before we pulled the secret of how to contain him from his fathers mind." He sneered down at Clark, "They died begging for mercy."

Clark pulled hard on his restraints, unable to break free. The girls sobbed again. "Fight me!" Harry screamed.

Voldemort was now beginning to look bored. He pointed his wand at Clark, "He is too dangerous to let live. Avada Kedavra!" The green light struck Clark in the head and he slumped forwarded, unmoving. Harry just sobbed as he watched his friend die. There was truly nothing he could do and now there was no one left to save him.

"Just finish this!" Harry shouted.

Voldemort smiled, looking amused again, "I am merciful and should you ask me nicely, I may consider your request."

Harry glared at Voldemort, having no wish to plead to this monster. "No?" Voldemort hissed in amusement. His wand pointed at Lois, "Crucio!" Lois arched her back and screamed. Harry was fighting a war within himself, allow his friends to suffer, or beg for this to end. The former won.

"Please!" Harry called, stopping Voldemort. "Just end it!"

Voldemort seemed high pleased, and Harry felt the anticipation of the Death Eaters. "I am a man of my word. In this one case, I shall do as you request." He pointed his wand a Lois and killed in the same manner as he had done with Chloe and Clark. Had sobbed again, wishing for death, knowing that he had asked for the death of his friend.

"Remove them and leave." Voldemort ordered to his Death Eaters. Three masked men walked forward dutifully and levitated the dead bodies away before all the robed followers disappeared from view.

Voldemort walked towards Harry, still leaving a leaving Lana lying in as much of a foetal position as he chains would allow. "Are you curious as to why I asked my Death Eaters to leave us Harry?"

Harry didn't answer, he just stared at Lana. He couldn't handle this. He knew a man could only take so much before their mind snapped. He knew he was reaching his point. Voldemort seemed to sense this, "You tried so hard to hide from me Harry," Voldemort hissed softly. "You even moved halfway around the world." Receiving no response from Harry Voldemort shook his head, "You have _feelings_ for this girl, do you not Harry?" Harry didn't respond. "I can see you do. I can see into your mind like a book. You care for her the most?"

Feeling no need to lie, not now, not when he was already defeated, Harry nodded weakly. Voldemort made a disgusted noise, "I thought your father was low marrying a mudblood, but this Harry, this is pathetic. A _muggle?_"

He walked back towards Lana and pointed his wand at her, "Please…" Harry whispered, struggling to even form words, only knowing that he didn't want Voldemort to touch her again. "Please don't."

"Do you admit defeat Harry? Do you admit that I'm superior?" Voldemort asked in anticipation.

Harry didn't respond. "Crucio!" Voldemort hissed again and Lana screamed.

"Stop!" Harry yelled. "Stop." He repeated in a dead voice.

"You win. You beat me." Harry whispered, unable to take his eyes off Lana. She didn't deserve this. No one did. Not because of him.

Voldemort nodded, satisfied, "I know I have. But you are not beaten yet. No," he drew out the word, sounding oddly passionate. "You are still not broken. I shall see that happens before you die."

He pointed his wand at Lana again, "Crucio!" He whispered furiously.

"Stop!" Harry screamed, pulling against his restraints. He continued to scream until his throat turned raw. He didn't know how long he was made to watch the torture or when his voice gave out. He stared at Lana, looking deeply into her vacant dead eyes. Her mind was destroyed.

Voldemort caught the look in Harry's eyes and smirked. "It's over. Avada Kedavra!"

With that, Lana Lang died and Harry's mind shattered.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Wow, depressing aye? For those who though the chapter was too short, originally I was going to end it on the Lord Voldemort returned line. Find out what happens next on __**Enervate**_


	17. Enervate

**AN:** _My delays are getting longer. Sorry about that. The chapter I'm writing now, as well as the one before it, are longer than any other chapter and I'm finding it oddly difficult. The time frames for the events to take place were longer than I could work around. It's pretty much sorted now._

_I apologise to people who ask questions in reviews that I don't answer. It keeps slipping my mind to do so but I'll do my best to answer questions that appear._

_I get a few questions about the title of the story and its resemblance to Stargate but that's just coincidence. There's already a few small clues but for those curious, there should be an 'Oh, right!' moment in the next chapter._

_Enjoy, review and whatever. Oh, and take a look at the new Xover on my profile page._

**Chapter 17 – Enervate**

Doctor MacIntyre of Smallville Medical Centre had had a very busy couple of days. Most of the staff knew that despite the town's usual quiet atmosphere, when trouble started, Smallville Medical Centre would be as busy as Metropolis General on it's busiest night. Such an incident had happened recently. An explosion in LuthorCorp had released a toxin into the air, spreading approximately 2 miles around the factory. It had resulted in those infected experiencing their worst nightmares, night-terrors even.

In simplest terms each infected patients heart-rate and blood pressure had shot up dangerously high, resulting in the imminent danger of heart attacks. They had tried to lower the symptoms, but nothing had worked until Lex Luthor had enough medication transported over. A simple injection later and the patient would awaken. There had thankfully only been one casualty.

The strangeness hadn't stopped however. Midway through the patient rush Clark Kent had brought in recently discharged patient Harry Evans. Whilst he had obviously been infected by the toxin, his reaction to it was somewhat different from everyone else's.

He had been brought in screaming.

The rest of the patients, despite being in mortal peril had been silent; at most moaning in their unconscious state, yet Evan's had been screaming as though he was being tortured. That in itself brought up even more questions about the newest member of their town. When he had been brought into the medical centre 5 days prior with multiple wounds, including broken ribs and punctured lung, the staff had been horrified by his appearance. His entire body, from top to bottom, from back to front was covered in scars.

They knew that they hadn't been self-inflicted, and some looked as though they had been caused by a sword or whip. It horrified them; the boy had obviously been tortured at some point in his life. The more they examined the old scars and wounds, the more questions arose. They'd then removed the glove covering his left hand and that thought was cemented.

They had been further confused, when looking through his medical records, found no mention at all of the scars, or in fact anything past a concussion at 4 and a break in his arm when he was 7. And so they had healed him up. When he awoke and was questioned regarding the scars his face had gone blank and he had politely, yet forcibly told them that if it had no concern over his current state then they had no reason to ask about it.

They had eventually let the subject rest.

They had found that he was a remarkably fast healer and had made numerous escapes for the front door before being found and escorted back to his bed. Two days after he was admitted he was x-rayed again to make sure his three broken ribs were healing. To their surprise, they were well on their way to being repaired. They estimated that the 6 to 8 week proscribed healing rate would be easily less than three weeks. It was quite the mystery.

And now the mystery was back. The teenager had been screaming in pain as well as screaming out names of people, _'Voldemort'_, _'Lana'_, _'No!'_, _'Stop!'_ and _'Fight me!'_ being the main ones. Nothing they gave him would calm or silence him. Oddly enough, the screaming and the 'pain' seemed to come and go, gaps of up to 15 minutes before he started again. His heart had also been beating so fast they were sure he would be one of the first to die should they not find a cure. Amazingly, his body held long enough for LuthorCorp to corrected their mess.

Thankfully the boy had calmed down slightly when they had given him the antidote. He didn't awaken like other patients did though, nor did his heart rate and BP drop significantly. He continued to cry out and screamed loudly. This time they had been able to control his heart rate and blood pressure but nothing would control the images his mind was obviously creating.

They had found _one_ thing that calmed him down somewhat. They'd found that if Lana Lang was in the same room as him he calmed down almost to the point of being asleep. It was as thought Harry could sense her presence and relaxed because of it. Whenever she was in the room with him his cries for her and for whatever was happening in his mind to 'stop' would vanish, only to start again moments after she left his room. Thankfully Miss Lang obviously cared about him enough to help and spent as much time as she could after school in his room.

After 6 days even Lana's presence did very little to calm Harry, although she did try.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday, December 11th, 2004)_

"_Get in there you worthless freak!" Vernon Dursley yelled, throwing five year old Harry into a dark cupboard for asking why he didn't get any presents for his birthday like the other children. "No food for a week!" The cupboard door slammed closed, shrouding him in darkness._

"_So your arm hurts, does it freak?" Vernon spat at him. Little Harry nodded, clutching his aching arm. He was seven and his arm was broken because Dudley had pushed him down the stairs. "Maybe that'll teach you not to get in my boys way! Let this be a lesson to you!" The cupboard door slammed shut, leaving seven year old Harry alone with his broken arm for almost two days._

_A dark cloaked figure slowly approached him, unicorn blood dripping from behind its hood. Harry was paralyzed with fear._

_Professor Quirrel removed his turban, displaying the glowing red eyes of Voldemort on the back of his head, proof that the man who murdered his parents was still alive._

_Harry entered the hospital wing to see Hermione stiff, obviously having been petrified by the Heir of Slytherin._

_A 60ft basilisk slithered forwards towards him. He turned and ran._

_The cries of his mother dying._

_A hundred dementors swarming around him and his godfather, hungry for their souls._

_Stepping out in front of a huge crowd, a Hungarian Horntail staring at him and only him, ready to kill to defend her eggs._

"_Kill the spare," A voice called and Cedric Diggory fell to the ground, dead._

_Lord Voldemort stepping out from the large cauldron, once again back in a corporeal body of his own._

"_Bow to death Harry."_

_Watching Sirius fall backwards through the veil, a look of shock and surprise frozen on his face._

_Pete Pettigrew strangling Remus with his silver hand, burning through his throat whilst Harry watched from Voldemort's eyes._

_Turning the Elder Wand on his friends for stopping him going straight to Voldemort._

_Ron being hit with the killing curse from Lucius Malfoy._

_Hermione's head being destroyed with a 'Reducto' curse not two minutes later by Malfoy Jr._

_Molly Weasley stepping in front of a killing curse to protect her only daughter._

_Dumbledore duelling for 10 minutes toe to toe with Voldemort, only to be cut down with a killing curse._

_Being captured and tortured._

_Nails being struck through his wrists and ankles, holding him tightly against the wood of the crucifix for four days._

_Lana being tortured._

_Chloe being struck with the killing curse_

_Clark being struck with the killing curse._

_Lois being tortured and killed._

_Lana being tortured._

_Lana being tortured._

_Lana._

_Tortured._

"LANA!" Harry screamed as he sat upright breathing heavily. He looked around wildly, his mind spinning and reeling, trying to catch up with whatever was happening. The door burst opened. Harry raised his hand, the killing curse on his lips. A soft voice on his left stopped him and a hand was place his shoulder. "Harry?"

He turned quickly, his mind recognising the voice. He let out a chocked sob as he looked into Lana's brown eyes. "Lana?" he asked softly, his voice incredibly dry. She smiled sadly at him. Before he could stop himself he pulled her towards him and hugged her tightly. He closed his eyes, relishing in the feeling that she was still alive and that everyone else would be as well. Voldemort was truly dead and his friends in Smallville were fine. "It's ok Harry. It was just a nightmare." Lana said to him soothingly.

Harry just nodded, realising that whatever affect Jason however long ago had affected him as well. He removed himself from Lana's arm and lay back on his bed, eye's closed. He managed to calm himself and return his breathing to normal. He opened his eyes, wiping away his tears and looked around the room. Lana was sitting by his bedside, a school book open on his beside table. The Doctor that treated him for his broken ribs however long ago was standing at the door, seemingly taken aback by Harry being awake. Harry looked him dead in the eyes, "What happened?" he asked.

_Doctor Scanlan was walking quickly through busy hallways with Lex Luthor walking beside him. "__Unfortunately. We have no idea what we're dealing with." Doctor Scanlan said._

_Lex looked unsure before speaking, "It's a synthetic toxin."_

_Doctor Scanlan turned towards the Lex. Lex continued to speak in a quiet voice, "A pressure tank exploded this morning at my plant. We thought we had it contained, but the toxin must have escaped into the atmosphere. It's possible all these people were exposed at the time."_

Harry viewed his memory and realised that what ever had happened had been an experiment gone wrong. He looked in again.

"_What's wrong with him Doctor Scanlan?" Clark asked. Lana and Chloe stood beside him looking worried._

"_I'm sorry Clark, but we don't know just now. His heart rate and blood pressure are as low as we can get them so he's in no immediate danger."_

_From the background Harry heard a strangled cry that he recognised as his own. "Regarding the nightmares he seems to be having, there doesn't seem to be anything we can do to stop them."_

The memory ended and another began.

_Lana, Chloe and Clark stepped in to his room, looking sadly down as him. He wasn't surprised by the looks. He was in his bed, thrashing around, screaming and crying out. "Are you sure there's nothing you can give him?" Chloe asked._

_Doctor Scanlan shook his head, "We've tried numerous means of sedating him but his body seems to be rejecting them quicker than they can take effected."_

"_Voldemort… No." Harry called out in a whisper. His voice rose, "No!" _

"_He calls that out mostly, increasing in volume every so often." They moved into the room._

"_Volde…" Harry called, only to relax slightly and stop mid sentence. Immediately Doctor Scanlan moved over to him and began a quick check up, lifting his eye lids and checking his pupils._

"_What happened?" Lana asked._

"_I'm not sure," The Doctor said regrettably. "Whilst he appears to have calmed down there has been very little change in his vitals."_

"_Do you think he'll wake up soon?" Chloe asked._

"_I'm sorry Miss Sullivan, but I don't know. Now, I'll need to run some more test to see if he's improving. Clark, I'll call your parents if anything more develops." Harry's friends turned and left the room._

_As soon as Lana crossed the threshold to the hallway Harry cried out again, "Lana! No!" Having shouted loudly his friends were back in the room._

"_What happened?" Clark asked._

"_Nothing, he's back in the state he was in before." Scanlan answered in confusion, only to look down at Harry again and see him relaxed again. Harry felt the Doctor coming to a strange conclusion as to what happened. If he was anywhere else in the world he would have laughed off the idea, but Smallville Medical had more than it's own share of bizarre 'miracles'. He looked curiously between Harry and his friends. "Clark, Miss Sullivan, could you both leave the room for a moment." They both looked confused but complied._

_Doctor Scanlan looked at Harry and saw that there was no change. "Miss Lang, could you please leave the room now." Lana nodded and left to stand beside Chloe and Clark. As last time, the moment she left the room Harry cried out again._

"_Stop! No! Fight me you son of a bitch!"_

_Doctor Scanlan nodded and beckoned the three onlookers back into the room. Harry calmed instantly. "It seems that whenever Miss Lang is in the same room as Mr. Evans, he seems to calm. Most unusual."_

"_What does that mean?" Lana asked._

"_Other than what I've just said, I really have no idea why your presence calms him down. There's no medical reason for it."_

The memory ended and Harry was just able to keep the lock of shock from his face. Lana just being near him had calmed him? Why? Sure, he was comfortable around her, but it still didn't explain it. He pushed into the Doctor's mind again, ignoring what he was saying to him.

"_What's happening Doctor Scanlan?" Chloe asked._

"_He's getting worse I'm afraid. Whilst Miss Lang's presence was once able to calm him it's not working quite so well anymore. Mr Luthor is lobbying to have him moved to a specialist clinic in Metropolis, but as no one has any legal rights to have him moved we can't unless we provide proof that he is in immediate danger.."_

Harry snapped out of the memory and looked around him. Lana was listening to the Doctor even though Harry could tell she knew all of what he was saying. She'd sat by him for a good portion of a week because it relaxed him? He felt unendingly grateful. He fully and clearly remembered all the horrors he had to watch from his past and the one his mind created where Voldemort returned again. If Lana hadn't been there he could imagine things would have been much worse.

"… and we weren't sure when you would wake up," finished Scanlan.

Harry just nodded, knowing what happened despite not hearing a word of what was actually just said. "Thank you Lana." Harry said, turning towards the girl on his left.

She smiled prettily, although she looked a bit worn out. "I'm just glad I could do something to help."

"When can I be discharged?" Harry asked the Doctor with a tone of voice that screamed, '_Soon or else'._

"I'd like to check you over Mr. Evans but I can imagine you'd be fit to leave sometime today."

Harry nodded and relaxed back in his bed.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After waking up Harry told Lana that she could head on home and that he'd come round at the Talon later on. She'd left and the Doctor had issued several tests to make sure everything was fine with him. Two hours later Doctor Scanlan was satisfied enough to discharge him.

"Thank you for looking after me again Doctor." Harry said, shaking his hand.

He smiled, "I'm just doing my job."

"Oh," Harry said. "That just reminded me." He reached into his jacket and pulled out a his cheque book. "A donation to the Centre." He put his hand into his jacket again and conjured a pen.

"A donation?" The Doctor asked.

"I've been in this town for two months and almost spent a quarter of it in here. If I keep going like this then I'll be in here a lot more. Just doing what I can to help." Harry wrote a number on the cheque and signed it. He smiled, giving Malfoy money to help heal muggles… If he didn't have a business to run he'd just give it all away to charitable causes; it helped the world and it amused him.

He needed more reasons to smile.

He was about to hand over the cheque to the Doctor who Harry could tell was thinking Harry was about to make a student sized token gesture. "How much do the Kent's still owe in hospital bills?"

"I'm afraid I can't tell you that Mr. Evans." Doctor Scanlan replied. Harry just nodded, knowing that would be the response he'd get and picked it from his mind instead. He ran a finger across the dollar amount he'd written on the cheque and increased it by the appropriate amount.

"And should I guess?" he asked as he handed it over.

Doctor Scanlan looked at the cheque in shock, "This…"

"Is not negotiable," Harry said, interrupting. "Spend it well and make sure the Kent's bill is paid." With a small amount of mind manipulation Harry distorted who it was that had given the cheque to him and, as it was signed under an alias Alexander Black, named for his great-grandfather (a man who had quadrupled the Potter fortune in his role as family head) and his godfather. If investigated, it would point out Marauder Industries, but little else. Harry turned around and walked off before the Doctor could argue. Harry felt pleased with his 'charitable' donation and promised himself that he needed to set up a foundation from Marauder Industries to help those that really needed it. As he had to speak with Zeke about his week long nap and what _exactly_ LuthorCorp had been screwing with, he'd mention it then.

He walked outside, "Huh, it snowed." Harry muttered as he Apparated on the spot.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Once returning home Harry had closed off his mind for an hour in order to get some rest, something he hadn't had much of lately. His body was still sore though and he resolved not to do anything too strenuous the next few days. He'd contacted MI headquarters and spent two hours on a video phone speaking with Zeke about what MI was doing and what stage in their development they were. Harry had read a few pieces in The Daily Planet about an up and coming company and one that now owned the majority shares in 'The Daily Planet.'

They'd been getting quite a bit of publicity recently, especially after they bought controlling interest of 'The Planet'. Zeke had readily agreed to Harry's plan for a charitable foundation and said he'd try and have it ready and in some semblance of working order before Christmas. It would be great publicity for them. Thankfully, Harry's name had yet to come up as all the talk was of the CEO.

The Lillian Foundation was beginning to form. Whilst it wouldn't focus specifically on one group in need, the main header for the Foundation would be helping orphans and children. His childhood had been awful and he had the money to try make sure others didn't have to suffer what he did.

Zeke was unsure on the name, given its close ties to a demon and dark witch known in literature as Lilith, but in memory of Harry's mother, he insisted. Zeke finally relented.

On regards to the LuthorCorp Smallville Plant 3 mess, nothing had been reported and Luthor had swept everything under the rug. Zeke said that whilst the company was becoming strong and being noticed, taking on LuthorCorp would not be wise. Harry had to agree.

What LuthorCorp had been doing was experimenting with a sample of the toxin they had managed to get a hold of from the 'Gotham City Nightmare'. In Gotham City, just over a year ago an airborne toxin had been released in the city causing a hallucinogenic attack that caused them to see their worst fears in front of them. The biological attack had released countless criminals and almost destroyed the city. Thankfully, the vigilante known as The Batman had managed to stop the terrorists and Wayne Industries had found a vaccination.

With a reminder to visit in a month Harry ended the call.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After a shower and a change of clothes Harry Apparated into the alley behind the Talon as was his usual unofficial Apparition point. He would have taken his bike but due to the snow that covered the ground it would be difficult to ride until some more charms were put on it. He had a book of charms for such an occasion but it would take a few hours to properly enchant them into the bike.

He walked through the Talon's door and shook the snow from his head. It didn't take him long to find Chloe and Clark. A memory of his nightmare assault him before he could do anything to prevent it.

_Chloe being hit with the killing curse_

_Clark being hit with the killing curse._

He shook his head and took a deep breath, using what he could of his occlumency knowledge to banish the images. They looked up as he approached and smiled. It warmed him to know that he did have people who cared for him here. "Hey guys." Harry said as he sat down next to Clark.

"You're awake!" Chloe said happily.

Harry smiled, "I figured that sleeping longer than a week was lazy so I got up."

"We were worried about you." Chloe said softly.

"We weren't sure when you were going to wake up." Clark added, patting him on the back. Whilst not use to such a greeting Harry did his best not to tense up. Whilst not bothered with general shows of affection he knew he was still wound up about the visions he had seen.

Harry shrugged, "I have a tendency for long stays in hospitals. Sorry about worrying you."

"Did they figure out what was wrong with you?" Chloe asked.

Harry shook his head, "They don't know. Their guess is something akin to an allergic reaction to the toxin, other than that they don't know." Harry on the other hand had a fairly good idea what happened to him. It was just the same as his reaction to the Dementors of Azkaban. He had seen true horrors in his life and had nightmares that most people simply couldn't comprehend. He wasn't going to tell that that though.

"So," Chloe said. "Popular question of the week. What's Harry Evan's worst nightmare?"

Harry thought about it. The way she'd phrased it as 'Harry Evan's' set it up well. Harry Potter's worst nightmare was the return of Voldemort and his Death Eaters and his new life being destroyed. That was Potter's fear, but what did 'Evan's' fear?

"Losing my friends." Harry answered simply. "Losing them and not being able to do anything to stop it." He took a deep breathe, removing the images of his final nightmare from his mind. Whilst it wasn't healthy to repress feelings and memories, it would be worse to face these. "What about you?"

"I saw myself losing my mind." Chloe said after a moment. Whilst Harry had no wish to see it, Chloe's mind practically projected her nightmare to him.

_Chloe walked towards the woman sitting hunched over in a chair. The room was dark and she couldn't make anything out apart from the blonde haired woman in the chair. Chloe looked at her closely, noticing the straight jacket. "I've been waiting for you Chloe." A soft voice whispered._

"_Mom?" Chloe asked just as quiet._

"_You can't escape this, Chloe. None of the women in our family ever have." The woman in the chair whispered again._

_Chloe approached the chair again. She reached forward, aiming to place a hand on the blonde woman's shoulders. She stops. Pulls her hand back, considering what to do. Determined she reached forward again, gently placing her hand on the woman._

_Suddenly the chair spun round, revealing not Chloe's mother like she thought, but a horrifying version of herself, with dark black eyes and dry crusted lips._

_Chloe screamed._

Harry was brought back out of the memory and shuddered. Clark and Chloe looked at him in concern. He waved them off, "It's nothing. I'm just cold. Be back in a second." He stood up and walked towards the counter and order three drinks. He tried to forget that memory. Through what he'd picked up from her mind since they'd met a few months ago Harry knew she'd been worrying about what she just witnessed happening. He had of course not mentioned any of this as he wasn't supposed to know.

The point was that her mother was in a mental institution and as far as Chloe knew, it was hereditary. It was viewing memories like that that made Harry wish he'd never studied legilimancy.

He brought back the drinks to their table and sat back down. "So what did you see Clark?" Harry asked.

"I woke up and everyone I knew was gone." Clark said. Harry nodded, ignoring the very vague answer. It annoyed him at times that he couldn't read Clark like he could everyone else. Well, until he reminded himself that he shouldn't be viewing peoples memories in the first place.

"So I heard that the whole toxin thing was covered up by LuthorCorp." Harry said as he took a drink.

"I know!" Chloe said with a bit of heat behind her voice. "After everything that happened it's just being completely forgotten about!"

"I spoke with a few contacts of mine about it. A few people have looked into it, but LuthorCorp is too powerful for anyone to move against it for now." Harry explained. "Maybe someday," He added as an after thought.

"You have contacts?" Chloe asked in surprise. She looked slightly impressed as well.

Harry shrugged, "I told you my father's family had a bit of money. People tell you things when you do."

"What did you find out?" Chloe asked. Harry could tell she wanted to take notes.

"You know the company Marauder Industries?" Harry asked curiously, having not actually talked about this with his friends before.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "You mean the company that bought 'The Planet' and then everything else it could get its hands on?"

Harry nodded, "I know a few people there and they told me that they'd looked into it. Wayne Enterprises looked in as well due to the similarity between the Gotham attack and this."

"Why didn't they expose them or anything?" Chloe asked, clearly annoyed.

"They said that the company is still too new and angering the Luthor's would be of no help to them. As for Wayne, I have no idea."

Chloe nodded in understanding, even if she wasn't happy about it. "So," Harry said. "What's been happening since I went to sleep?"

"Lionel Luthor was released from prison." Clark said. Harry shared a significant glance with Clark remembering what happened with the soul swapping at the prison.

"Wasn't he away for murder?" Harry asked with a raised eyebrow.

"New evidence was found." Chloe said in obvious disbelief.

Harry, having read the articles about Luthor's arrest after the body switching incident raised his eyebrows in surprise. The evidence had been practically ironclad. They sat and discussed Lionel's spring from jail, something Harry could tell Chloe was more anxious over than she let on.

"Oh," Chloe added, as though she'd just remembered something. Harry took a sip of his coffee. "Jason broke up with Lana." Harry choked on his coffee.

Patting himself on the chest he got his chocking under control. He looked over at Chloe and realised that choking him on coffee had been somewhat deliberate. She looked a little _too_ smug, "He what?" Harry asked, resisting the urge to glare at her.

She nodded, "He moved out of her apartment a week ago."

"Why did he break up with her?" Harry asked in surprise. "It didn't have anything to do with her having to spend time with me in the hospital did it?" he asked in concern. The last thing he needed was Lana's help to him being rewarded with her boyfriend breaking up wither her.

"It had nothing to do with that. He didn't give her a reason." Chloe said.

"He broke up with Lana for no reason? Who in their right mind would do that?" Harry said. He saw Clark look a bit guilty at that and felt a little sorry. Still, he knew Clark had secrets he didn't want to tell and that at least gave him a reason, however poor it was.

Chloe smiled teasingly, "Is someone else lusting after Lana Lang?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at her, "That's not what we're talking about." Chloe smiled victoriously at the new information she'd found. Harry barely resisted the urge to say, _'See if you can get a job at 'The Planet' now' _but stopped himself. That would quickly blow away his secret in regards to owning that company.

Also, it was childish.

"How'd Lana take it?" he asked curiously.

"Not too well. I think she was glad you seemed to need her at your bedside. It gave her something to do and something else to think on."

Harry almost laughed; he'd managed to help a friend by being unconscious. That was new. "Did she come back?"

Clark nodded, "About an hour before you did. She told us you were awake went up to her apartment for a shower but didn't come back down."

Harry nodded and downed the rest of his coffee, ignoring the fact that it was too hot to that. "I'll go check on her; didn't get a chance to talk earlier. I'll see you guys around." With that Harry got up and walked up the stairs to Lana's apartment. He knocked and waited for a few moments before Lana opened the door, her hair still somewhat wet. Personally, Harry had never seen her so beautiful. Especially when she smiled at him, "Harry, Come in."

She moved away from the door and Harry walked in and sat down on her couch. She tried to ask Harry if he wanted a drink but he waved it off. Having just downed half a mug of almost scalding coffee, he wasn't that thirsty. "How've you been?" Harry asked.

"I've been ok." Lana said, but Harry saw the lie.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Jason." Ok, so that was something of a lie. He personally didn't like Jason all that much but freely admitted to himself that he was somewhat biased in his opinion. His feelings about Jason breaking up with Lana were confusing. He was glad Jason was gone, but at the same time, Lana truly did love Jason and he didn't want to see her hurt.

"Thanks," she said, sitting down.

"Chloe said that he didn't give you a reason?" Harry continued.

Lana was obviously uncomfortable with the line of conversation but spoke none the less, "I came back with a take-away and he was packing. He left just afterwards."

"Have you spoken with him since?" Harry asked. Lana shook her head.

Harry hated himself just now for what he was thinking and planning, but from what she had sacrificed for him this week, he owed her. Damn his 'Saving people thing.' Sometimes, being the nice friend really sucked, "You've given him space for a week. As he didn't give you a reason that probably means his reason was stupid and he got scared." He closed his eyes and shook his head slightly. He opened them again, "Find him, talk with him and get him to give you a logical reason. If that doesn't work, well…" He trailed off. "If you don't fight for something, you don't get it."

Whilst he didn't want to say anything to help her get back together with Jason, Harry knew he had no chance of a proper relationship with Lana. She was in love with Jason and she was in love with Clark. Harry knew that if Clark eventually got over the burden of his secret and got together with Lana then that would be it for her. He'd just told Lana that if you don't fight for something you don't get it. Well, he wasn't going to fight this time. Such a fight would just hurt everyone.

Like everything he wanted in his life, it was just out of reach.

She seemed surprised by Harry's answer and he knew that it was probably because she knew somewhat what he felt for her. "Thank you Harry." Lana said, clearly meaning it.

Harry shrugged, pushing down the idea of hunting down Jason and frying him with lightning. "Don't mention it. I owe you anyway." He rubbed the scar on his cheek feeling it tinge slightly, "Thank you for staying at the hospital with me. I clearly wasn't doing well and you helped me out even when it took a lot out of your time."

"You're my friend Harry. You don't owe me anything." Lana said.

"I do," Harry said seriously. The magical world took their debts to another seriously and as far as Harry was concerned, he owed her two life debts now. "You brought me out of my depression at Halloween and you helped me through it again. I _do _owe you and I won't forget it."

They sat in silence for a moment. "Did the hospital tell you anymore after I left?" Lana asked.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing. The think it was an allergic reaction of sorts, but other than that, they don't know."

"What do you think?" Lana asked. Harry raised his eyebrows questioningly. "About why you woke up and why you calmed down when I was in the room."

Harry rubbed the back of his head. The best excuse he could come up with in his head was his magic, whilst not being able to fight off the effects of the toxin, it had done what it could to try save him and help, thus when Lana was near, Harry's magic was told his subconscious mind that she was fine, even if he was consciously unaware. "I… I don't know." Harry said. Seeing that Lana was somewhat disappointed in the answer he continued, even if he preferred not to speak, "The worst thing I saw involved you, Chloe, Lois and Clark. You suffered the worst and I guess my subconscious was trying to help by telling me that you were actually fine."

"Really?" Lana asked. Harry nodded. "What did you see?"

He considered his answer. He knew Lana hated being lied to and she had a good mind at working out when someone was lying to her. Whilst he knew he'd never get to date her, he was going to be the best friend he could, "I saw a few things. Some memories of things I've seen before. I also saw the man who killed my parents return, and, it wasn't good."

Lana looked reasonably horrified. "You saw memories?" she asked in confusion. No one else had seen past events, only ones their mind made up for the here and now.

Harry nodded, "I've always been different and this further proves it. You know that I don't talk about my past and that it wasn't all that good, I guess some of that bled over."

"I'm sorry I brought it up." Lana said, clearly meaning it.

Harry waved it off. It was natural for everyone to be curious about what the people around them feared. "People will ask, there's no stopping it. Of course, very few will get the full truth."

"But you told me?" Lana asked.

Harry surveyed for a moment, "You don't like people lying to you and you seem to be able to tell when people do lie to you and I don't want you to think I am." Her ability to tell who was lying to her intrigued him. He was able to do it easily due to legilimancy, was she doing something similar? She _was_ a squib, so it did mean that she had some latent magic, but he'd never felt anything resembling a mental probe from her. Granted, he tended to tell her the truth, so maybe her mind hadn't probed his. She also read Clark well, but he was a pretty horrible liar anyway.

"Thank you Harry." She said again.

**OoOoOoOoO**

After a quick chat with his friends and a phone call to Lois to let her know he was alright, Harry excused him, saying he was tired, before returning home. An '_Incendio' _charm lit the fire place and he sat down on the couch in front of it. Whilst he didn't need the light or heat, the rhythmic movement of the flames allowed his thoughts to drift as he stared at it.

He finally allowed his thoughts and nightmares of the past week to overcome him and he dropped his head into his hands and shuddered. _'Why can't I have a quiet week?' _Harry thought to himself. The fear that Voldemort would return again had always been just in the back of his mind, and now it had forcibly been pushed forward.

He was sure Voldemort had finally been stopped, having felt the man die in his own head when his final attack had struck as well as seeing his marked Death Eaters die in a similar way, but there was still that 'What if?' thought.

The problem stemmed from the method Voldemort used to keep himself alive, the same magic that Countess Isobel used to possess Lana, a Horcrux. A Horcrux was part of a soul, ripped from the original during an act of cold blooded murder. With part of the soul trapped inside an object if the owner of the Horcrux died, their soul would survive, tethered to the mortal plain, able to be used to revive the creator.

It was some of the darkest magic still known to the modern world.

Voldemort had used this method but that held the problem of the Order not knowing how many he had created. The original theory was that he had made seven of them – seven being the most powerful magical number – and scattering them across England and Scotland. Experiments had been carried out to see if such a thing was possible and they quickly discovered that the soul could be split no more than 3 times without destroying the other pieces.

A lucky turn of fate had Harry destroying Voldemort's first Horcrux, his diary from when he was sixteen, during his second year in the Chamber of Secrets. It had taken a year to find the remaining two soul pieces and destroy them. Voldemort had been most enraged to discover this and it was shortly there after that the Hogsmeade Massacre took place.

In retaliation for making Voldemort mortal, the man had destroyed everything he held dear.

This had done nothing to help his guilt-complex.

Harry shook his head, pushing away old thoughts and memories. "Voldemort is dead," Harry said aloud to himself, staring into the fire again. "Voldemort is dead and he can't hurt my friends," he said again. Allowing himself to believe it properly. He knew Voldemort would have found him by now if he was truly alive.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Next chapter: __**Marauder**_


	18. Marauder

**AN:** _Welcome to the first chapter edited by my beta, Agramahad. Sorry about the long wait for this chapter but the wireless internet at home is rarely working and I can't reach this site from work anymore to upload. I'm using a neighbours computer to post this. If people ask questions in their reviews, I'll get back to them as soon as I can.  
_

_This is a bit of a slow chapter and there isn't much in progresses sake; it's an introduction. For those that like to mention that, a heads up for you. The next three chapters should be far more exciting._

_Enjoy._

Chapter 18 – Marauder

_(Wednesday, December 15th, 2005)_

Lex Luthor sat in the Luthor family mansion staring at a photo on his laptop monitor. If there was one thing he hated it was mysteries and if this town had one thing more than anything else, it was mysteries. It was a family trait, something he'd inherited from his father. Luthor's had a tendency to become obsessed with the unexplainable, and the same mysteries at that. Clark Kent had been one, the Kawatche Caves another. Both turned up nothing in the end.

His new mystery was in two parts and he was trying his hardest to fit the pieces together. The mystery was Marauder Industries and new Smallville High student Harry Evans.

Marauder Industries was a headache. A few months ago it didn't exist. It then, without any forewarning, almost literally sprang out of the ground and started to buy _everything_ in its path, including a large portion of the world's media corporations. The person behind it clearly had money. The worrying part was that he had more money than LuthorCorp had before his father's trial had worried shareholders. They were like locusts, only everything they touched thrived.

Worst of all, a global genetics lab that he had slowly, but surely, been reducing the share price of for an easy takeover, had been bought right from under him by MI. They'd then turned the Metropolis building into their headquarters. He could see the building from the executive office in LuthorCorp Plaza. What made things even more maddening was the seven percent MI owned of LuthorCorp. The only thing that made him feel better was the fact that LuthorCorp Plaza looked down on Marauder Tower.

The two people who ran the company were mysteries to him as well. The CEO Ezekiel Griffis had, like the company he ran, appeared out of nowhere. He had to admit though, the man, only a year older than himself, knew what he was doing and did it well. He had a good solid education and seemed to be the sort of man you'd want to run a company. He'd met him a few times since the company's creation during board meetings.

The money behind the company was beyond him though. He'd spent a good month trying to find out who owned the money and the majority of the company shares but had come up with nothing. All his money and resources and he had nothing but a name.

Harold Evans.

That was _all _he'd found and it continually frustrated him. MI had apparently hidden the majority shareholders name so well that he couldn't find it. It hadn't been until he stopped over at the Kent farm and saw someone he didn't recognise picking a roughed up Clark Kent from the barn floor that something had clicked. He'd been about to throw the kid off Clark but Clark's face showed that he was a friend.

The kid had introduced himself and suddenly a piece that was missing from his Marauder Industries puzzle fell into place. The boy was Harry Evans, the newest person to move to Smallville. He'd heard that Clark and Lana had become friends with him, but nothing more than that. Maybe the man who owned MI was his father?

With that new information he'd gotten access to Harry's records and found nothing remarkable other than the fact that Harry's parents were dead and that he had no guardian. There was a chance that Harry was the one that actually owned the company, but he had no further evidence to back that up.

He looked again for a couple of months, his contacts turning up with nothing. Then, a week ago the kid had turned up on his radar again. His lab had been working on a toxin they had gotten a sample of from Gotham City. The modified toxin forced whoever was exposed to it to witness their worst fear. Something had gone wrong though and the toxin had been exposed to the outside world, infecting just over one hundred people within a two mile area. It was a disaster. He'd done what he could to sort the problem, including risk his own life by taking a shot of the antidote and exposing himself to the toxin for a brief period of time.

Thankfully the antidote worked and everyone who hadn't died was cured. Well, apart from one person. Harry Evans had had a worse reaction than everyone else and had been brought into Smallville Medical centre screaming. The screams still gave him chills. He'd obviously had a hard life. He waited two days before acting, wanting to see if anyone from Marauder Industries turned up to help him out.

No one had and Lex began doubting this Harry was the one behind MI. He'd sent in doctors from Metropolis and they were unable to find out what was wrong with Harry. He knew that some people thought he was evil but he was genuinely worried about the boy. He knew Clark and Lana were Harry's friends and he hadn't wanted anyone harmed. His specialists lobbied to have him moved to a specialist clinic in Metropolis where they'd be better equipped to help him, but the only instructions his medical notes stated was that he wasn't to be moved unless in mortal peril. That hadn't been deemed the case.

Thankfully the boy woke up after a week. Hearing nothing about retaliation from Marauder Industries for almost killing their majority shareholder Lex decided that Harry was just Harry. That had lasted about four hours. Word quickly reached him about a huge donation being given to the Smallville Medical Centre an hour after Harry Evans was discharged. Now, he had Clark Kent on the way to his office and he had a good idea of what it was about. The question was what he would do about it.

Whilst he had done serious damage to their friendship he was working hard to try and repair it. He knew the Kent's hated people giving them money and despite that, offered to pay the medical bills for Jonathan Kent's extended visit of three months when brain 'd wanted to investigate that further but as a favour to Clark he didn't. Lex was a smart man and he knew the exact dollar amount that the Medical centre had been given and he knew the exact amount the Kent's still owed. It hadn't taken a genius to notice the unusual dollar amount of the donation. That is until you deduct what's the Kent's still had to pay, then your left with a nice even number. An even number with a lot of zeros.

He closed his laptop screen, hiding the display as Clark walked through his office door. He got up from his seat and moved towards his liquor bar. Pulling the stopper of a bottle of brandy he poured it into his glass, "Clark, it's good to see you. Drink?"

"No thanks Lex." Clark said politely.

Lex studied Clark carefully for a moment as he did every time Clark entered this office. He never knew where he stood with Clark these days; sometimes he was the villain and sometimes he was an information source. He use to be a good friend as well, but social visits had dried out somewhat. They still happened, just not as frequently. "What can I do for you?" Lex asked politely, already knowing why Clark was here.

"I was wondering if you could look something up for me." Clark said, somewhat hesitantly.

Lex sniffed his brandy, paying close attention to the aroma. His father had poisoned a batch of alcohol not too long ago and he was somewhat hesitant about it happening again. It _had_ almost killed him after all. With his father being out of prison for a day already and having no idea how it happened, he was on the lookout. Deciding that the drink was poison free he took a sip and moved back towards his desk.

He smiled at Clark in his own amused way. Today he was an information source. "Oh?" he asked.

"Yeah, someone paid off all our medical bills yesterday and I was wondering if you could find out why." Clark asked.

Lex nodded, pleased that he'd assumed correctly. "You didn't think it was me?" Lex asked, knowing that Clark would have. The teenager had an unhealthy habit of accusing people of deeds with little to no proof.

The guilty look on Clark's face was all the confirmation he needed. Clark winced a little, "At first, but we were told some guy named Alexander Black signed the cheque."

"Alexander Black?" Lex asked, putting on his best thinking face. "He's Special Advisor to the CEO of Marauder Industries."

"You know him?"

Lex nodded, "I've never met the man but I hear his name often enough." Lex opened his laptop and opened a file on the man. "He gave Smallville Medical Centre a large donation yesterday afternoon but I didn't know he'd paid off your bill. Do you have any idea why he'd help your family?"

Clark shook his head, "I hadn't even heard of him before. I have no idea why. I was wondering if you could find anything."

Lex nodded, expecting as much. "Chloe couldn't find anything?" he asked, Clark's blonde friend had an astounding amount of contacts around Metropolis for a high school student. It was impressive, even if Chloe was a liability.

"She's checking out Met U today." Clark said. Lex nodded again, somewhat pleased to know he was Clark's first stop, even if it was only because Chloe was out of town.

"I'll have a look and see what I can find." Lex said. He would talk with Harry and see what the teenager had to say about himself before he made any mention to Clark. Harry had obviously gone to great lengths to hide himself from the world and he wasn't going to ruin that.

At least, for now.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry adjusted the suit jacket he was wearing as he stood in front of his bedroom mirror. This type of clothing was not something he was use to wearing but he knew the day would prove to be interesting. He ran a hand down his face, feeling, but not seeing the scars he had. His plan for the day was visiting Marauder Industries for his first official tour, but given that no one knew of Harry Evans' connection, he was under an over powered glamour charm that would allow him be escorted around without suspicion.

Having arranged the details with Zeke the week before and back when the company was initially started, he would be going as Alexander Black, Special Advisor to the CEO, his fictional role in the company until he was revealed to the public. He checked his glamour charm again; making sure it was fool proof. With the amount of power he'd used casting it, it would be difficult to break.

His hair was shorter than usual, a deep brown instead of black and grey. He'd also mimicked the effects of an aging potion, giving his face the illusion of a man in his mid 20's instead of late teens. With the help of his Omni-lenses his eyes were now a stunning blue, much as his green eyes apparently were. A neatly trimmed moustache and goatee completed the image. He quite liked how that looked.

With a nod of determination to his mirror-self Harry Disapparated from his home in Smallville to an area a block away from the MI building, a place he'd picked out before turning up. He walked up to the building, examining it properly from the outside. The 40 story building was by no means an imposing one given some of the skyscrapers that Metropolis held but he still thought it impressive.

Large red letters with the companies name rested several feet about the main entrance, easily catching the eye of whoever walked past. Given that he'd turned up at just past 1pm people were filling in and out of the buildings nearby, heading for lunch.

He entered the building, taking his first proper look at the interior. As opposed to the cold, sterilised steel look the LuthorCorp Plaza held, the main reception, a large spacious room, was filled with warm colours, deep reds and browns, giving both an imposing yet warm welcome. He walked over to the reception desk against the far wall. There were very few people hanging around the reception area.

"Welcome to Marauder Industries. Can I help you sir?" a pretty receptionist asked with a smile as he approached. She had to be no more than a few years older than him. Her hair was light brown, running down past her shoulders, perfectly straight.

Harry smiled, so far impressed, "Good afternoon Miss… O'Neil," Harry answered, pulling her name from her mind. "I have a meeting with Ezekiel Griffis at 1pm."

After getting over her initial surprise of knowing her name she glanced down at her computer screen. She looked back up, "Your name sir?" she asked.

"Alexander Black," Harry said, leaning lightly on the desk.

She pressed a few buttons on the keyboard in front of her. Harry caught the slight widening of her eyes and from her mind saw that she'd realized the position he held with the company.

"Mr. Black, yes, I have your appointment here. Mr Griffis asked if you would wait down here for him."

"Thank you," Harry said with a smile, as he was here for a tour the reception area seemed an obvious starting point. "Do you know if he's running on time today?" Harry asked.

She typed a few things onto her keyboard, "He had a meeting with Queen Industries at 12 o'clock, but those typically don't last that long." Harry nodded. "Can you I ask you a question?" she asked.

"Sure," Harry said with a nod, leaning a bit more heavily on the wooden counter.

"I have a good memory, especially for faces but I've never seen you here before. Is this the first time you've been here?"

Harry nodded and he looked around again, "I've been… overseas recently and this has been my first chance to have a look at the Metropolis headquarters, hence me waiting down here for the tour."

"The CEO is giving you a _tour_?" she asked, surprised.

Harry nodded, "Who better to show me around than the man I'm meant to be advising?" he asked rhetorically. "I've not seen Zeke in a few months so it's a good chance for a reunion of sorts."

She nodded in understanding. There was a small silence before she spoke again, "Have you met Mr. Marauder?" she asked.

Harry raised an eyebrow at the random question, "Mr. Marauder?" he questioned. He suspected he knew who she meant.

She shrugged, "Whoever owns this company doesn't appear to have a name so we all just call him Mr. Marauder." Harry laughed, amused. "So do you know him?" Harry noticed that the remaining receptionists were now listening in to their conversation.

Harry smiled, "I've met him a few times. He's a good man." He really didn't want to discuss himself in such a manor. Whilst he was under the guise of someone else talking about himself in the third person was very much a Voldemort thing and just seemed inappropriate. Given that people were doing the best to keep his name hidden he didn't want to say anymore.

"Are we ever going to know who he is?" she asked.

"Nothing can remain a secret forever," Harry answered, not telling them anything.

She seemed to understand that he wouldn't say anymore. "How did you know my name?" she asked curiously. "I know I've never seen you before and I don't have my name written anywhere visible."

"Your good with faces, I'm good with names. Comes with the job," Harry told her.

"So you didn't just pull it out of my head then?" she asked with a teasing smile.

Harry smiled, easily covering up the fact that he _did_ pull her name from her mind. "Mind reading is far more difficult than most think it is," he told her, "Takes _years_ to learn. I'm just getting the hang of it."

She eyed him questioningly for a moment before smiling slightly, "That come with the job as well?"

Harry grinned back, "Of course. I'd be useless otherwise. Keep that a secret for me though?"

"You told me that secrets don't remain that way for long, would trying really be worth the effort?"

"I said things can't remain secret forever. A little while is easily done," he paused for a beat. "Unless your boss can read mines that is."

He turned upon hearing laugher from somewhere over to his right. Several people headed towards his direction, most manoeuvring towards the doors, but two approached him. He immediately recognised Zeke. The other, tall and slender build with short blondish brown hair looked familiar but Harry couldn't place it.

Harry turned back to the receptionist, "Thank you for speaking with me."

She smiled at him, "It was fun."

Harry nodded to her once again and moved away to meet up with Zeke and the one remaining member of the Queen Industries board. "Alex," Zeke said as he reached him. They shook hands. "Good to see you again.

"You as well Zeke," Harry replied with a smile. Despite the conversations he'd had with the man he hadn't seen him since he'd left New York.

"Alex," Zeke said, indicating to the man beside him. "This is Oliver Queen, CEO of Queen Industries." He turned to Mr. Queen, "Oliver, this is Alexander Black, one of my chief advisors."

Harry held out his hand and shook the hand of Queen Industries CEO, "It's good to finally meet you Mr. Queen." Harry said, definitely recognizing him now that he had a name to attach. He knew the man was six years older than he was, gaining control over the company after being orphaned when he was nine.

The man's grip was strong, "You as well Mr. Black." Queen Industries CEO replied.

"Just Alex," Harry said, remembering he was disguised just in time. "I've never been one to feel comfortable just using surnames." Harry said. It was hard enough to keep track of the names he was using these days.

"I understand how you feel. Just call me Oliver," Oliver Queen said with a small laugh. He checked his watch, "Well, I've got things I need to check up on." He turned to Zeke, "I'll see you at the next meeting."

"A week it is then Oliver," Zeke said, shaking his hand.

"Once again, it was good to finally meet you," Oliver said to Harry before turning around and leaving the building.

"So _Alex," _Zeke said, smiling at the name. "How are things?" He pointed them off in a direction and they began to walk.

"I've not been hospitalised in a few days, so I guess that's good." Harry answered with a smile.

Zeke laughed quietly, "You should see how much we're paying for your insurance these days."

"That much?" Harry asked.

"Two hospital visits in two months, both where you almost died…" he trailed off, not needing to say anymore.

Harry shrugged, "Comes with the territory of being me. Trouble just finds me and I can't see it ever stopping."

"No, I suppose not," Zeke conceded.

"So that was Oliver Queen then?" Harry asked, somewhat rhetorically.

Zeke nodded, "It was. He's a good man. Knows what he's doing. Reminds me of you actually."

Harry raised an eyebrow, "How so?"

Zeke gave a small shrug, "You both give off the same vibe."

Harry just shrugged off the answer. "How about this tour then?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

An hour passed and Harry was given a quick tour of the Marauder Industries building. He'd met with most of the department heads and was given a brief overview of just what they were doing at the moment and what they had planned for the future. Having read most of the company reports that Zeke had sent him since his move to Smallville, he'd known most of what they'd told him, even if he didn't understand the mechanics of what they were doing. Regardless, he'd listen to what they had to say, asking questions of his own when he was interested in a project or operation.

They finally reached the top floor. "That door over there," Zeke said, pointing to a door to his right. "Is the entrance to my office." They continued further along the spacious corridor on the top floor of MI. "And that," he said, pointing to a similar door. "Is yours."

Harry opened the door and stepped in, Zeke just behind him. He stared at the room oddly for a moment, not having expected it to look as it did. Considering the details that were given to him when his office was discussed, it seemed wrong.

"It's… different than I expected," Harry said to Zeke as he walked in. "I thought I was meant to have a window?"

He walked fully into the office, Zeke following behind him. The room, whilst not small, was a lot smaller than what he'd been told to expect. There was a comfortable looking chair behind a plain wooden desk. The desk was completely blank. The walls and carpet were much like the decoration of the top floor and the downstairs reception. A large framed picture of Metropolis hung against the wall to his right.

"You don't like it?" Zeke asked, looking around the room. Harry could tell something was off here. There was a feeling of magic from the picture. He walked closer and realised the magic was covering the entire wall. His eyes shone white and he recognised the glamour charm easily. He turned to Zeke and raised an eyebrow in question.

Zeke pulled his wand from an inside pocket and Harry tensed, ready to defend himself. Zeke paid him no attention and waved it back and forth along the wall. The image of Metropolis shimmered and faded away leaving a double set of doors in its place. He pocketed his wand and Harry allowed himself to relax.

"_That _is your office," Zeke told him.

"I have to go through someone else's office to get into mine because…?" Harry asked, confused.

"When you take this job you're going to need an assistant; this is her office. Whoever you pick will be able to screen your calls and visitors before they can see you with this set up."

"I need an assistant?" Harry asked, not having known that.

"If you want to do your job properly, you'll need one."

"You don't have one," Harry pointed out, looking through the empty desk drawers. He wasn't quite sure how he'd do with someone like that working only for him.

"Of course I do Harry," Zeke told him, rolling his eyes. "You've not met Michelle yet, but she's always around."

"Shouldn't she be taking your calls for you then?" Harry asked, confused. Whenever he called Zeke he had never spoken to anyone but the man himself.

"You have access to my direct line. Everyone else speaks to Michelle first."

Harry shrugged; he'd deal with this when he had to.

Zeke pointed towards the still closed double doors "This is your office," Zeke said. "The glamour covered it in case anyone came through here by mistake. It's not on the available floor plan at any rate and won't be until you decide it's yours." They stopped in front of the door. "Do the honours?" he asked.

Harry was about to reach out for the handle of the door when he picked up a small electric current running through it. He tilted his head, working out exactly what he was seeing. Incidences like this were becoming far more common for Harry and he was still trying to suss it out. With a hum of approval he ordered the door to do what it was suppose to. With a metallic click the door unlocked and opened automatically. He glanced over a Zeke, "You gave the door electrical control?" he asked.

Zeke waved him into his office, "Something like that. There's no remote to control the door, only you can do that with your… abilities."

Harry nodded and took his first step into his office. He was instantly impressed despite it not looking anything like he asked. The walls and carpet were a deep rich burgundy, though slightly more red than brown. The room was longer than it was wide, leading to a golden oak desk at the end that was facing towards the door. A large comfortable looking maroon leather desk chair sat behind it. Several bookshelves rested against the wall to his right.

Harry stepped further into the room, silently. Similar to the reception area downstairs, it gave a warm but imposing feel. Harry imagined depending on the reason someone was in the office would be the difference in what they experience. A set of reddish-gold doors sat next to the office door.

He walked over to his desk, running his hand along the smooth surface of the wood. A monitor with a docking station for a laptop and a phone were the few things that sat on it. He took a look out the window that led out to the streets of Metropolis. It was a good view. From where he stood he could see the slightly taller building of The Daily Planet and just behind that, the colossal LuthorCorp building that towered over everything else in the city.

Harry turned to Zeke, "Didn't I ask for dark blues?" he asked casually, making sure to show that he didn't mind the different colour scheme. With magic he pulled his desk chair back slightly and took a seat, instantly noticing the cushioning charms. Concentrating in front of him with one hand on his chair, he waved his other hand, creating a replica of the chair on the other side of the desk for Zeke.

The older man shook his head and chuckled quietly, "It's truly remarkable that you can do that," he said. He sat down on the chair and leant back. "Regarding the colour scheme, well, it was decided that you should stick to saving the world from Dark Wizards and not take on a career of interior decorating.

Harry laughed, "I did a fine job redecorating my home."

Zeke smiled, "I imagine you did fine, but that's your home. This," he waved his arm around, indicating the office. "Is the work place of one of the richest men in the world; this suits you better."

Zeke took a look around the room, "So what do you think of the office?"

Harry nodded, "I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever get sick of a red and gold colour scheme, but other than, it's damn near perfect."

"Good," Zeke said. "Do you want to see the apartment of yours?"

Harry nodded and pushed himself to his feet, vanishing his conjured chair when Zeke stood. Zeke nodded towards the double doors to his right. "This is an elevator that will lead you to your penthouse." He opened a small panel on the wall to the left of the door. "Finger print recognition is required, or you can…"

The doors slid open.

"… Or you can do that." Zeke said unnecessarily.

"I can key people into it?" Harry asked. Zeke nodded, quickly explaining just how to do so. "So who has access?"

"You and I for the time being; everyone who worked on it has been removed now."

"What about wards?" Harry asked as they stepped into the large lift. It easily held enough room to take 25 people. There were only four buttons on the inside panel. One to travel between the two floors, one an emergency button, one to shut the doors and the other to hold the doors open.

"No access by any means other than this elevator and your unique destructive approach, although I'll kindly ask that you not enter or exit that way." Zeke pressed the button with the red 'M' on it and the doors shut. The lift moved upwards. "You have some of the most powerful wards we could get cast protecting both your office and up here."

The doors opened and they stepped out. Harry looked around and he marvelled at the place. It was as if whoever designed this place wanted it to be the opposite of his office and his home. Instead of the smooth corners and warm colours his office had, or the pleasant peaceful décor he had in Smallville, the apartment was brightly lit, the walls painted white, silver metal lamps and furnishings decorated the rooms. His office space contained a thin yet sturdy metal desk with a glass top and two monitors.

He explored the three bedroom apartment for ten minutes. It was a change of scenery for him and despite it being a little Spartan and the fact that he didn't exactly _need_ this place given that he could travel from here to Smallville in the blink of an eye, but it was still something he was pleased to have.

He admittedly felt guilty about now having two homes when he'd survived the first half his life in a small cupboard. Harry explored while Zeke stood by a window and looked out onto the streets below. One entire wall of his apartment was just glass, tinted and charmed from one side in order to preserve his privacy. The view was stunning.

"How's the foundation coming along?" Harry asked regarding the Lillian Foundation he'd recently started.

"Things are progressing well but it's not newsworthy so far. I was speaking to Oliver Queen about the Foundation just before we met you today. He seemed interested in contributing something as well."

"You talked him into it?" Harry asked.

"He brought it up himself actually, thought helping under privileged children in this city was an excellent cause."

"You want something to drink?" Zeke asked after a moments silence. Harry nodded, not entirely bothered. With that, Zeke called a house-elf into the apartment which then vanished a moment later before reappearing with two glasses with a small amount of amber liquid at the bottom. The small well dressed elf passed one to Harry, bowed and disappeared for a final time. "Cheers," Zeke said, holding up the glass.

Harry returned the gesture, talking a small sip. "That's better than the crap I drink," Harry muttered to himself.

"That costs thirty dollars a _sip_ so it had better be," Zeke replied, obviously having heard him.

Harry took another sip. "We have house-elves here?" he asked curiously.

Zeke nodded, "A few at HQ, but given that the majority of people here are non-magical, having too many would draw suspicion. They mainly clean. It's not something that bothers you is it?"

Harry shook his head, "As long as they're treated well. Are they paid in America?"

"Paid?" Zeke asked. "As far as I was aware they weren't anywhere…"

Harry shook his head, "Never mind, it's a long story." Harry finished the reminder of his drink, placing his glass on the glass-topped metal coffee table at his feet. "Oh, how's the progress for Project Prometheus?"

"Very little so far I'm afraid. We have the team picked out, and they're here in Metropolis, we have the lab said up but we're still waiting on approval from the Department of Non-magic Magical affairs. They way things are progressing we should have approval any day now."

Harry nodded, happy that things were still progressing. Project Prometheus, named after the god who stole fire from Zeus and gave it to mortals, was a project Harry had created in his mind when the company was just beginning back in September. After reading about the success Magitek had with creating electronic devices that worked with magic and the limited knowledge of biology he got from his High School Pensieve knowledge, Harry had been curious about just why people were magical. Why did people from normal families suddenly gain access to magic? Why did people, squibs, lose their ability to use magic despite having been born to parents who both used it?

More importantly to Harry, he wanted to know just why he was different to any magic user he'd met before. Why could he control electricity when magic fought against it?

For his entire life he had just wanted to fit into the crowd, something fate seemed violently against. Was that the reason he had more power or was there something else? He wanted to know and owning a company that specialized in genetic science meant he had resources.

When he'd mentioned it to Zeke initially, the man had tried to warn him off the line of thought, but seeing that no research had been done before because the government 'disapproved' of the concept spurred him on. It had taken a display of his elemental power to convince Zeke that working this out would be a good idea. After all, if something was wrong with the majority shareholder, and wallet, of the company he was to run, it needed to be discovered.

The problem they had though was that the people he would need to research this knew nothing of magic and giving them that knowledge about magic without having an immediate family member who held the gift was illegal and as such they had to get government permission before they could begin. Thankfully it seemed that things were going as planned.

"That's good to hear Zeke," Harry said sincerely. "Do the team you've chosen know anything?"

He nodded, "The full team can be brought together at a moments notice but they don't know they've been picked yet. I don't really see them giving up the chance to explore this though. When they know what the project is, they won't turn it down."

Harry nodded, hoping that was true. Given the amount of new information they would receive about the world, knowing that their knowledge of the world and of history was both incomplete and incorrect, and that they had a chance to know the truth would be enough of an incentive for most people. Given the money they'd be offered to accept and what they'd get if they succeeded, well, no one in their right minds would turn that down.

"Well, I think we've sat up here enough for the moment," Zeke said getting to his feet.

"You've got more meetings?" Harry asked, standing.

Zeke shook his head, "Nothing for two hours but best we round get this over and done with."

"What's left to see then?" Harry asked, thinking about what he'd seen so far.

"Well, you asked for a training room," Zeke said casually.

Harry's eyes widened slightly, "You've finished it?"

"Two days now," Zeke said. "It should be made to your specifications, but we'll see."

"Alright," Harry said. "How do we get there?"

Zeke nodded toward the lift and they moved to it. Harry opened the door before they got too close. They stepped in and Zeke pressed the button to shut the doors. "This should be simple," Zeke said, turning to Harry. "Just tell the elevator to go down as far as it can go."

Harry nodded once and closed his eyes. With a quick thought the lift began to descend. "You gave me a secret hideout?" Harry asked in jest, remarking on the fact that as far as he could tell, no one else would be able to access where it was they were going.

Zeke rolled his eyes, "No, it's just a gym of sorts. Unless you start jumping from roof tops dressed like a bat you won't need one. The area required a lot of magic and as such it's quite a distance underground to avoid detection, problems with underground public utilities and if need be, collateral damage."

Harry just hummed his agreement.

Zeke looked closely at Harry, "You're _not_ thinking about jumping roof to roof in a bat outfit are you?"

Harry shrugged, "Why would I want to dress like a bat?" he asked dismissively.

"Harry," Zeke said, his voice becoming more serious. "You seriously can't expect to be doing something like that. Even with the amount of problems that would cause, you'd still be risking the exposure of the magical world."

"Relax Zeke," Harry said. "It was just a passing thought."

Zeke still didn't take his eyes off him, "And what brought that on?"

Harry leant back against the elevator wall, "What do I do when I finish school?" he asked.

"You help run the company that _you_ started," Zeke said pointedly.

Harry waved a dismissive hand, "I can help, I can advise, but I can't see myself sitting in an office for years and years." He looked at the floor counter and saw they were almost down. "I'm getting restless in Smallville. Yeah, I wanted a normal life, a quiet life, but that's just not going to happen. I've been fighting a war for years and I don't think I _want_ to stop fighting. Not fighting bores me."

Zeke took a deep breathe, "You've been thinking hard about this."

"I guess I have," Harry conceded. "Just trying to work out if I can actually manage it or not."

Zeke eyed him carefully, "I'm not promising anything, but I'll look into it for you. And this conversation isn't over yet, not by a long shot."

Harry looked him in the eyes and nodded, "Thanks Zeke."

As if knowing their conversation had finished for now a bell rung and the doors opened, revealing a completely black room of unknown size. The only light came from the inside of the elevator. Harry looked at Zeke curiously, silently asking _why_ it was dark, "Turn on the lights." Zeke instructed him. On instinct he looked for a light switch before remembering how Zeke had set up everything else. There were hundreds of electrical systems in the immediate area. Confused as to what he needed to turn on he activate the light nearest him. As if set up and knocked down like dominos the remaining lights turned on one after the other, leading along the room.

They stepped out from the elevator and Harry absently closed the door. He walked forward looking around. The walls were made of solid stone giving the room a look that screamed that they were underground. The main room itself was rather small and it gave no indication to anything else in the area. The floor was solid stone and there were four large metal doors with hand-scanners on the outside.

"You _have_ given me a secret hide-out!" Harry pointed out.

"To your left," Zeke said, ignoring him and pointing to the first door on the left hand side. "Is where you can practice physical combat. There are numerous charmed golems in there to help as well as traditional gym equipment; weights, treadmills; that type of thing. Please remember that the golems are expensive and relatively difficult to cast, so if you do start using them, go easy, alright?"

"You don't want me to break your toys?" Harry asked with a slight grin.

"Considering I bought them with _your_ money, they're _your_ toys. Breaking them would just inconvenience you."

Harry nodded in understanding, "Check; no breaking my toys."

Zeke pointed to the door beside it, "That is for experimental and new spells you're trying. There has been enough warding done in that room that if enough unstable magic builds up it will do what it can to dissipate it. It should be safe no matter what's tried. You could set off a nuke in there and it would absorb most of the damage."

He pointed to the door ahead of him, "That is a firing range to be used _only_ with magic. We've not got much time left so you can explore that later. The furthest door on your right is similar to the firing range only that's to be used with lightning and nothing else."

He moved forward to the centre door on the right, "This one I'm quite proud of. Open it." With a quick look at the hand-scanner Harry opened the door. They walked in to a small room that only had a metal wall at one end with two spikes coming out of the it. Harry gave Zeke and odd look. "We don't know how your lightning effects you yet, if it can build up or overload, this can help you as well as the company."

Zeke indicated Harry to step forward so he did. "The wall in front of you is connected to a dozen or so generators a few floors above us. Any power that gets sent through here is stored for our use later."

"So whatever I fire into here can be, what, recycled for later?" Harry asked.

"Exactly. That's the battery," he pointed at the wall. "And you're the charger."

Harry shrugged, knowing the idea made sense. He looked at the wall again, deciding to test it out. Quickly he thrust both hands forward, palms out, underarms facing upwards and fired all he could. The twin beams of electricity connected with the two spikes and Harry could sense the electricity being moved upwards. He continued firing, testing to see just how much he could fire before he felt drained. Having never had a chance to do anything similar back in Hogwarts or since moving to Smallville this was a learning experience for his powers.

Firing at full power for just over a minute eventually began to tire him out. Determined to last as long as he could Harry kept pushing harder and harder. A strange feeling took over him as he did. The more he pushed outward the more he felt as though he could take from other sources. He could feel the electricity surrounding him in the bunker like area and he could feel his body wanting to take that power and use it. Not wanting to try Harry drew back his power. He dropped to one knee, exhausted.

Zeke took a few steps towards him, "Are you alright?" he asked, concerned.

Harry pushed himself to his feet and let out a deep breathe, "Fine Zeke," he ran a hand through his hair, "Never done that before."

"Could you have lasted longer?" he asked curiously.

Harry shrugged, "At the end there I was almost out of power but I could feel the urge to take more power from the room."

Zeke raised an eyebrow, "You think you could absorb power from the building?"

"Don't know," Harry said truthfully. "It deserves some more research though before I black-out the building by mistake though."

Zeke laughed, "Yeah, probably for the best. Well, I recommend you keep trying that. Your strength could increase the more your body learns to output."

"Resistance training?" Harry asked.

Zeke nodded, "Something like that. You alright if we leave?"

Harry nodded, "Lead the way." Together they headed back to the lift and Harry turned off the power in his training area before activating the lift. "Is this the only entrance in and out?" Harry asked.

"In a sense," Zeke said. "There's a door at the end of the lightning firing range. Go through that and walk for about two miles and you'll reach a point where you can lightning travel out with minimal damage to the area above you." Zeke looked seriously at Harry, "_That_ is only to be used for getting out and as a last resort."

"If I do that, what do I cut through?" Harry asked, knowing his power to travel with lightning would destroy whatever was over his head in order to reach him.

"An abandoned building in Suicide Slums," Zeke said. Suicide Slums was the worst area in Metropolis, the place where those without homes lived and an area that the police generally avoided. "We managed to destroy the building in such a manor that _if_ you use that way, you won't cut through the building, the lightning will simply enter through a hole in the building that we made for just the purpose."

Harry looked at the man oddly, "Is that not all a bit excessive?" he asked.

"You realise you're about half a mile underground, right? Would you really want to be caught down here if the lift screwed up?" Zeke said, already knowing the answer.

Harry blanched slightly. No, he didn't want that. "Right," Harry said, agreeing.

Remembering something he planned on asking Zeke about a few days ago he realised now was the right time. "Zeke, I need a favour."

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Next chapter: __**Apparate – **__Harry's animagus form is revealed, Chloe becomes suspicious of Harry, and Alicia Baker returns to Smallville._


	19. Apparate

**AN:** _Sorry about the long wait for this chapter. My beta has had some internet problems and is currently MIA. I waited a week to see if he would reappear, but he hasn't, so here's the chapter. I'll see what I can do about getting the next chapter up by the end of the week._

_Enjoy and review._

**Chapter 19 – Apparate**

_(Wednesday, December 15th, 2004)_

Harry sat on the wooden floor of his magically sealed room, starring down at the uncorked vial in his hands. He'd bought this almost 2 months ago, but with numerous hospital stays, the madness that was Smallville and the rise of MI had distracted him from it. He also rationalised that he had been delaying the process for as long as he could without abandoning his approach completely. He still wasn't sure if he should drink it. He knew it changed a person, but the thought of what he could achieve, the curiosity of what would happen, was too much to resist.

He looked at the blue liquid inside the vial and made his choice. He raised it above his head and looked up to the ceiling, "Cheers guys." With that he downed the contents of the animagus potion and threw the vial against a far wall, shuddering at the horrible taste as the glass shattered. He leaned against the wall, quickly becoming dizzy. He felt the room begin to spin. His eyes rolled to the back of his head and he blacked out, slipping sideways, sprawled on the ground of his sealed room.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry blinked and looked around. Everything was white to the point that, whilst he could feel the ground beneath his feet he couldn't actually make it out at all. The horizon continued for infinity. Warily he took a step forward, making sure there was ground ahead of him to stand on. Satisfied that he wouldn't fall to his death in this hallucination he began walking through the whiteness.

He didn't know how long he'd been walking before he heard the cry of a bird. The short cry was immediately followed by another cry of the same pitch and tone. The sound echoed around him, giving no indication as to the direction. The bird cried out again. He spun quickly, looking for something, anything. He heard the double-cry for a third time, and he could sense it was behind him. He turned and looked upwards. In the sky he could see a dark object heading towards him at speeds his Quidditch days told him was faster than he'd ever flown in his life.

The size of the object changed as it neared him and Harry could now see the wings spread outwards, slowing its descent. The bird continued towards him. Acting on pure instinct he held his left arm out and was somewhat surprised when the bird landed on his offered arm. It looked at him curiously and he looked back.

His knowledge of birds was very limited but he knew enough to know it was some kind of falcon. Thankfully, the animagus instructions said that you would know what your form is instinctively when you wake up. He examined the bird closely. It was perhaps 20 inches tall, with dark bluish-gray feathers along its back and its tail. The feathers on the underside were creamy white, speckled with the same colour as on its back, only with them roughly taking the shape of a large lightning bolt. That was obviously one of his identifying marks.

His talons were bright yellow, the same as the beginning of its beak, and the rings around its deep black eyes. His eyes were another part that held an identifying mark. Just like him, there was a livid red scar that ran down past one eye. It gave the bird a dangerous look; one of a creature that fought hard and won.

Sensing that the bird approved of him he ran his hand down its back in similar way that he use to do with Hedwig before she had taken a killing curse for him. That memory still hurt as much as the death of his friends. The falcon cried its approval and after a few minutes of stroking the smooth feathers of the bird it moved, tilting its head sideways, judging.

Harry felt a sharp sting in his chest and the white world around him began to dematerialize and he could now see the hardwood floor of the room he'd drank the potion in. He blinked a few times and the room came back into focus. He sat up and leaned against the wall. Taking the advice of the animagus guide he followed the correct step for having just drunk the potion. The guide said to merely state your full name and instead of your name you'll speak your animal's name.

He opened his mouth and tried to say 'Harry James Potter', but what came out was, "Peregrine Falcon." Making sure he still had the ability to speak properly he opened his mouth again, "Harry James Potter."

Letting out a relieved breathe he rubbed the side of his head, hissing an incantation to get rid of his headache. So he was a Peregrine Falcon? He had no idea what exactly that was, and the book said the next step was to find a large book with detailed specifications about your animal and memorise it. Having no patience for book learning he decided to act like he normally would; jump in head first.

He did however have one such problem. In all the recorded records of animagi, that were obviously less than the actual number in the world, none of them were winged animals, most being cats and dogs of different shapes, sizes and species. Not really knowing where to start he tried a wing.

Harry held his right arm out to his side, locked at the elbow, closed his eyes and concentrated on the feeling of his magic, something he had been told very few could accomplish. He felt it tingling down his arm until it reached the tips of his finger nails. Willing his fingers to transform, Harry increased the use of his magic. He felt nothing. He tried again, yet still felt nothing.

Annoyed at the lack of reaction, he slowly expanded the magic up his arm. It reached his elbow and he still felt absolutely no reaction. It wasn't until he was all the way up to his shoulder that he felt a strange burning sensation. He concentrated on that spot again, drawing his magic away from his arm. He pushed his magic into his shoulder and winced at the sharp stabbing pain. Not discouraged, he pushed harder, eager to show some sign of his animal. He gritted his teeth and pushed again, only to stop as he heard a loud ripping noise.

Worried that he'd somehow pushed his shoulder bone through his skin he turned his head quickly and stared in shock. Acting quickly he vanished his t-shirt and conjured a full body mirror in front and behind him. He looked at his back and couldn't help but smile.

He had the small signs of growing wings, just like an angel. He ran his hand down what could only be described as a stump and smiled. He was already envisioning what it would be like to _really _fly. He concentrated again on the same wing and pushed hard again. It hurt more than last time and after a minute he was breathing hard, knowing that what he had just done was all he was doing today. He looked at his back again and smiled. The wing was now a foot long, showing off a few dark bluish-gray feathers.

He couldn't wait to finish.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Encouraged the by the progress of his transformation he spent every available minute trying to transform another part of him. So far, he was impressed with his transformation, even though it had only been a day since he started. After the first attempt to transform he'd visited the public library in Metropolis and had spent a day studying falcons of every form. The one most suited to him, the Peregrine, was perfect. Whilst he wouldn't have minded a large animal like his father and godfather, this falcon fit him brilliantly.

From what he'd read he knew that the bird was noted as the fastest animal alive. When catching its prey, usually small birds in flight, it would fly to an impressive altitude and dive, or as the books said, stoop, and drop at speeds rumoured to reach 250mph. The very thought of trying this made him giddy. The bird also had an incredible talent at grabbing birds out the sky at those speeds. Just like catching a snitch.

He'd tried to find what attributes of the animal would bleed out into his human form and had found very few possibilities and thankfully, nothing drastic. He already had a liking for high altitudes and diving at high speeds, so there would be no change there. He would undoubtedly prefer his meat far rarer than he had before. Whilst he ate well-done steak just now, changing wouldn't be that much difficult. He'd also learned that peregrine falcons mated for life, which was something he believed in for himself already.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Friday, December 17th, 2004)_

Harry walked through school with a smile on his face. The progress he'd already made with his animagus transformation and the knowledge that he'd soon be able to fly under the power of his own wings was somewhat intoxicating. He scanned the hallways, keeping an eye out for his friends. So far he'd not seen them. Occasionally Clark would stop by his in the morning and drive him into school but he hadn't today. Harry wasn't worried, just curious.

Knowing that if he couldn't find his friends in the hallways that at least one of them would be in the Torch office he headed in that direction. He walked in the open door and saw Chloe sitting in her customary spot in front of one of the green monitors. Chloe looked up at Harry's entrance. He smiled at, "How's my favourite reporter?"

She gave him an odd look, one that told Harry that she was trying to puzzle through his somewhat odd mood, "You're awfully chipper today," she told him.

Harry smiled and shrugged, "I've had a good few days. Now, how is my favourite reporter doing?"

"I thought you hated all reporters with a passion?" she asked, smiling slightly but still looking at him oddly.

"They are the scum of the earth," He told her seriously. "Except for you of course." He took a seat next to her.

"So that would mean I'm the only reporter you like, meaning there isn't much competition for your approval."

Harry smiled again at her, "A win by default is still a win." His smile dimmed to somewhat to normal levels, "Seriously, how's things?"

"Good," Chloe said brightly. "My dad got a call from Marauder Industries yesterday and they've arranged a job interview with him."

Harry hid a smile, already knowing this fact, "That's cool." Harry said, showing he was pleased but not making much of a deal of it.

"It's funny," Chloe said. Harry hid a gulp; Chloe was well into reporter mode. "He didn't even _apply_ for a job there. With Luthor still having his name on the black-list, he didn't even try and they just called him out of the blue."

Harry shrugged, "Stranger things have happened."

She laughed, "In this town? Definitely true." She looked at Harry closely, gazing at him enough that he subconsciously increased the strength of his occlumency shields.

"What?" Harry asked, getting slightly freaked out.

"Why do I get the feeling that you had something to do with it?" she asked him.

Harry repressed a second gulp and with years of practicing hiding his emotions just shrugged, "Because you finally drank too much coffee and got that aneurism that you always strived for?"

"Funny," she said dryly with a slight smile. "It would make sense though in an odd sort of way," she said, almost to herself. "You've obviously got money and mentioned having friends in high places, you get injured and just after you wake up the Medical Centre gets a huge donation from Marauder Industries and the Kent bill gets paid off, you met my dad for the first time last week and now he has an interview."

Harry shrugged again, "The longer you know me for the quicker you realise that odd coincidences just seem to follow me around. I had nothing to with that stuff."

That however was a complete lie. He had donated money to the Smallville Medical Centre, he had paid off the Kent's hospital bills and two days ago when visiting Marauder Industries he had asked Zeke a favour to see about hiring Chloe's father, Gabe Sullivan, former manager of LuthorCorp Fertilizer Plant 3. With the experience he had already, getting him an interview had been simple. Zeke had been asked to make sure the man got a somewhat decent job in the Metropolis area.

Harry had met Mr. Sullivan eight days ago and found him to be quite amusing, especially the stories of a younger Chloe. Chloe had explained how Lionel Luthor had ruined her fathers employment chances and Harry knew he could help sort that.

"Right," Chloe said, clearly not believing him. She would without doubt research him extensively tonight seeing what she could find. Harry felt somewhat guilty that he hoped, very slightly, that Chloe would have that coffee induced aneurism soon.

"So have you seen either Clark or Lana this morning?" Harry asked.

"You've not heard?" Chloe asked, very surprised.

Harry shook his head "Another incident in the Clark and Lana drama?" he asked.

Chloe laughed, "Something like that." She began opening folders on the computers desktop, obviously looking for something to show Harry. "Lana is currently avoiding Clark and Clark is spending time with his new girlfriend."

"Clark has a girlfriend?" Harry asked, surprised.

Chloe rolled her eyes, "Maybe," She opened a file in the Torch archives. "Here, read this." Harry began to read the article.

"_Can any cell holder her?"_

He read through the old article of Chloe's, one dated back a year. Just under the headline was a headshot of a very attractive girl with long blonde hair that was streaked with brown. Below was a remarkable article about a girl with meteor powers that enabled her to teleport. The article became more intense, going on to describe how the girl, Alicia Baker had become obsessed with Clark, almost killing her father and Lana in a jealously induced rage. She was stopped by Clark before she did any serious damage, but was sent to Belle Reve Mental Institution in an attempt to repair her mind.

"Wow," Harry muttered to himself as he looked over the article again. "And _that's _the girl Clark's dating?"

"That's the rumour anyways," Chloe said. "Everyone who saw him yesterday mentioned that they were close."

"So did she escape or was she released?" Harry asked.

"According to her Doctor, she's cured…" Chloe clearly had her doubts.

"And here I was hoping for a quiet week…" Harry said to himself aloud.

Chloe snorted, "I've not had one of them in years."

"So this girl's dangerous then?" Harry asked, memorising the blonde girls face. Someone who could teleport would be something to watch out for. Apparition had limits and restrictions; did teleportation follow the same universal laws?

"She tried to off two of my best friends last she was in town. I'd say so."

"Anything interesting you can tell me that this article doesn't say?"

"Not really," Chloe said. "Before she went all axe-murderer on us she was just the snobby girl in the back of the glass that spent more time in the chem. labs than she did talking with people. After that she took a knife to Lana and got carted away."

"Short story," Harry told her, leaning back on his chair.

"Well, there was a rumour going around last year that she snuck into Clark's bedroom and was caught with Clark by Mr. Kent," Chloe told him with a mischievous smile.

"_Really_?" Harry asked. That sounded odd for Clark. Maybe this girl had brought out a new side of the superpowered teen.

Chloe shrugged, smile still in place, "Of course, Alicia could have been lying, it _is_ kind of hard to trust the word of someone who tried to go on a killing spree, but with her ability to teleport…"

"Ever ask Clark about it?" Harry wondered.

"I couldn't do that to him," Chloe said with a laugh. "He'd just go red, stutter and try to change the subject."

A marauder-esk smile appeared on Harry's face, "Maybe it's time someone asked?"

Chloe just laughed.

**OoOoOoOoO**

From the moment he returned back from school he began working on his animagus practice. He'd only been trying for a few hours and so far he'd been able to bring out almost 2ft of wing from each shoulder. His progress, according to his books, was staggering. From what Remus had told him, it had taken almost two months for his father and Sirius to show any sign of their animal and six months before there was anything slightly more than a bit of fur or hair.

It had taken his father a full year to be able to grow antlers whilst in human form. Remus had shown him some hysterically funny pensive memories of those days.

Sitting on the couch in his lounge Harry conjured a mirror in front of him and stared into his eyes. He was going to try transforming his eyes now. Unsure as to how his Omni-lenses would react to being changed he carefully summoned each one out, placing them in a small bubble ward, something that was used to protect small items for a short while.

He blinked a few times, squinting to see his reflection properly. It did very little to clear his blurry vision. Concentrating hard he called up his magic. He concentrated on his eyes and willed them to transform. His eyes tingled to start with and his iris's began to darken. The tingling feeling began to increase and soon, his eyes felt as though he was pushing a finger into each eye socket and none too gently. His iris's turned black.

The feeling in his eyes soon turned to a burning feeling as though a fire had been lit to the optic nerve. He gritted his teeth as the pain increased, closing his eyes to try and shut out the pain. He somehow managed not to scream. Moments after it started it disappeared, as did the pain. He took a few calming breaths, hoping he wouldn't feel that pain each time he transformed. That had _not_ been pleasant.

He now had a good idea what having your eyes gouged out would feel like.

Slowly, he opened his eyes and reeled backwards in shock. He wasn't sure what shocked him most, the fact that his eye sight was now incredible, beyond his wildest dreams or the fact that both his eyes were now completely jet black. He focused, trying to do what he could to control the strength of his vision, not even knowing if it was possible.

His vision wavered, zooming in and out, becoming focused for a second before becoming fuzzy. His head felt as though it was splitting before his vision found the strength that he needed. He looked at the mirror again. His eyesight was now far better than it had ever been, even with his Omni-lenses. Everything was so sharp and clear and detailed that he couldn't help but marvel. He knew that he would be able to see clearly for miles.

He looked at himself closely. With his eyes completely blackened, he was a fearsome sight. He looked as though he had been possessed by a demon or something evil. It was quite incredible. Concentrating again on his eyes again he willed them to transform back to his green ones. He felt similar pain to when he first transformed, although it was noticeably less. In less than 30 seconds his eyes were back to having a green iris. He noticed something odd though. Whilst his eye sight was nothing near as it had been when he had transformed slightly, they were still far better than they'd been moments before. He blinked a few times and realised that his vision was now on par with how it was with his Omni-lenses in.

He grinned at his reflection. Had he known that fixing his eyesight would have been a 'side-effect' of the animagus transformation, he would have tried it years ago. He tried changing his eyes again. Whilst the rest of what he'd achieved with the transformation was useless by itself, rapidly improved eyesight was something he could use.

Harry spent an hour transforming his eyes back and forth between human and falcon until he was able to do so slightly longer than it took him to blink, meaning he could close his eyes for a second and have them change in between. By the time he was suitably satisfied with his speed of change and how quickly it took to maximise the effectiveness of his eyes, they were beginning to sting.

Although not needing them for his sight anymore, he placed his Omni-lenses back into his eyes and waited a few moments for them to update themselves to his new vision. He blinked a few times as they adjusted and he sat back into his couch, relaxing after what had been a fairly stressful day. With only a thought his CD player turned on and he leaned back, listening to the Whitesnake album that Lois had all but ordered him to buy. His taste in music was extremely limited and he'd had several suggestions of what to buy and what not to buy from his friends.

His phone rang. With a muttered curse he pushed himself to his feet and walked towards the phone. "Harry Evans speaking," he said as he put the receiver to his ear.

"Hello Harry," Mrs Kent said clearly across the line.

"Hi Mrs. Kent, what can I do for you?" Harry answered politely, leaning against the wall.

"Have you seen Clark around?" she asked. Harry could hear a small amount of worry in her voice.

"I've barely seen him in two days," Harry answered truthfully. "Chloe said he was with Alicia."

"Hmmm, yes," Mrs. Kent said, and Harry could tell she didn't approve of the girl. It was fair enough for a mother to not want her son dating someone who had almost committed murder and become obsessed with her son. "They were seen around earlier, but no one has spoken with them for hours."

"You called Lana and Chloe?" Harry asked.

"I called them a few minutes ago, they've not heard from him." Mrs. Kent said.

"I've not seen him, but if I do, I'll let him know you're looking for him." Harry said to her.

"Thank you Harry." Mrs. Kent said and hung up the phone.

Harry placed his phone back and wondered where Clark was, it wasn't like him to not make sure his parents know where he was. Information flashed through Harry's mind and he realised that the tracking spell he'd placed on Clark when his body was being possessed by Lionel Luthor was still active. He concentrated on the information he was being given. Clark was over a thousand miles to the West of his location. He pulled an atlas down from a book shelf and found what state that was. Las Vegas. Clark was in Las Vegas with a stalker psycho girl. That was somewhat worrisome.

Deciding damage control might be needed, he Apparated straight up four hundred meters and called upon lightning to take him to Las Vegas, knowing that whilst he could Apparate that distance, it would take a lot of magic. He disappeared in a flash of lightning and reappeared in Vegas. Harry held out his hands and levitated himself to spot himself from dropping. He looked around. From the amount of lights below and the number of tall building he was in Vegas, and, if he was to guess, right in the centre of the city. He concentrated on the tracking charm he had on Clark and knew the boy was within 10 miles of him.

He looked down at the thousand foot drop beneath him and resisted the urge to just freefall, an urge that whilst he'd always had, was now stronger thanks to his falcon side. Shaking his head and refusing to give in to his primal instincts, he turned invisible and Apparated within 40ft of Clark's location.

He reappeared and removed his invisibility charm without anyone seeing him. He looked at the building in front of him. "Bugger," he whispered to himself.

He was outside a wedding chapel.

The place was small and obviously cheap, but it was still a place where people could get married at a moments notice. Sighing in frustration he entered the building, cursing Clark under his breathe. He couldn't work out what was going on. Clark was not the type of person who would run off to Vegas and marry a girl, even if he loved her. A memory of something Clark had mentioned to him a month ago regarding the meteor rocks came to the forefront of his mind.

"_They affect my mind. When I touch the red meteor rock it removes my inhibitions."_

That had been what Clark told him. Getting _married _fit the removing inhibitions part Harry supposed, although it was a long shot but from his perspective it was the simplest solution; he remembered Hermione telling him years ago about Occam's Razor.

He quietly walked up to the woman sitting at the reception. She'd paid no attention to him entering the chapel and had her nose in a magazine. He stood in front of her desk and she looked up, clearly annoyed at having to put her magazine down, "Can I help you?" she asked.

"I think a friend of mine came here to get married a few minutes ago. Clark Kent?"

She looked at a few sheets of paper in front of her, "Kent? Yeah, we had a Mr. Kent come in here a few minutes ago with an… Alicia Baker."

"And the ceremony?" Harry asked.

The woman nodded towards a set of open double doors a few feet away from him, "They're in there just now. Wind blew the door open a minute ago."

"So they're getting married now?" Harry asked.

She rolled her eyes, "Not exactly." At Harry's confused expression she continued. "Miss Baker is only 17 and as such, it is illegal for her to get married without a parent or guardian present. When we told Mr. Kent this he paid a great deal of money for our minister to perform the ceremony, despite the marriage not being legally binding."

Harry was visibly relieved. "Thank you." He said to the woman. With that he turned and walked towards the open double doors to where Clark and Alicia were. He stepped through the doors and saw the minister at the end of the isle and a woman sitting next to a piano, but no Clark and no Alicia. The minister and pianist both looked rather confused. Putting two and two together, Harry rationalised that the doors blowing open a minute ago was due to Clark super-speeding away.

With a frustrated groan he approached the minister, not even bothering to question him, instead just opening a legilimancy connection.

"_We are gathered here to join this happy couple in holy matrimony. Marriage, as you know, is a union that should not be entered into lightly." The Minister said to Clark and Alicia, both of whom were standing in front of him, Clark in a tux and Alicia in a wedding dress._

"_Yeah, yeah, skip to the good stuff, Pops." Clark told him impatiently, although Harry could see the excitement and amusement behind his eyes. It was a much different look than Harry had ever seen on him before. There was a confidence that Clark was sorely lacking. Alicia smiled back lovingly at Clark. It was the first time Harry had actually seen the blonde girl in a way that wasn't a photo and he admitted to himself that she, and her smile, were beautiful._

"_Oh, all right, um…" the Minister said, pulling a piece of paper from inside his jacket. "Do you, Clark Kent, take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife?"_

_Clark slipped the gold ring onto Alicia's finger, "Hell, yes." Clark said. Harry was surprised by just how confident Clark's voice was. He clearly had no doubts about marrying the girl._

_The minister turned to Alicia, who no doubt couldn't have kept the grin off her face if she tried, "And do you, Alicia Baker, take this man to be your lawfully wedded husband?"_

"_I do." Alicia said, just as confident as Clark had been._

_The minister smiled, now looking at both of them, "Well, you may kiss the…" He trailed off as Clark pulled Alicia into a passionate kiss before he could finish the sentence. He smiled, somewhat amused, "Oh, I see you're already doing that. Well, by the power vested in me by the state of Nevada, I now pronounce you man and wife."_

_With that, Clark picked up Alicia who squealed in excitement and surprise before they both vanished in a rush of air that Harry knew to be Clark at super speed._

Harry pulled himself from the memory, vanishing any remains from the chapel that indicated that Clark had ever been here. Once the place was spotless Harry obliviated the two gaping muggles and walked back into the empty reception. With another wave of his hand the receptionist was obliviated. Whilst she was still in a stupor, Harry looked over all the paper work she had in front of her, finding a marriage certificate with Clark and Alicia's name on it, as well as a few other bits and pieces. He vanished all record of Clark from the chapel, beginning to wonder why he was acting as Clark's personal Obliviator.

He also picked up a thick wad of cash that was tied together with an elastic band. Harry knew that was what Clark had paid with. He felt bad for taking the money, but if he wanted nothing to seem odd, he needed to take it. Harry picked up the cash, counting out $3000. Harry wondered where Clark had stolen that from, but knew if he handed it in to the police he'd have to fill in his details and he wasn't meant to be here either.

Unsure of what to do with the money he walked out the chapel and concentrated on the tracker on Clark. Only, he couldn't find it. That could mean a few things. Either Clark was dead and the tracker had dissipated or he was behind a warded facility. Even a building with a few wards would be enough to block the tracking signal and Harry had little doubt that this town had more than a few. Given the fact that he knew of at least 2 casinos and 2 major hotels he owned in the area, Clark could be in any of them.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry searched for half an hour, seeing if he could get a lock on the tracker again. After the half hour search the tracker moved again, appearing just over a thousand miles to the east. Smallville. Apparating back to the top of what he now knew was called the Stratosphere Tower he disappeared in a streak of lightning, appearing back in Metropolis before Apparating home.

He didn't know what had happened with Clark or why he was suddenly home, but it wasn't something that involved him, only Clark, his parents and Alicia. With the tracker not moving from the Kent home Harry sat down on his couch again, turned on his CD player, summoned a book and just relaxed, eager to do so again. He eventually took a few hours occlumency induced sleep a few hours later.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday, December 18th, 2004)_

At 1pm the following day Harry Apparated to his designated spot behind the large red barn at the Kent farm, curious to know what Clark had been doing. This of course meant he needed to add another known ability to the ever increasing list of what Clark knew about him. He'd decided last night that he would keep the tracker on Clark. He got into more problems than Harry had ever done at Hogwarts and whilst he knew Clark could handle himself, Harry still wanted to help. He didn't think he'd be able to stop, even if he tried.

Walking past the barn he heard raised voices. He moved carefully and slowly around the barn and through the open door. There, in the centre of the barn was a man with long black hair pointing a gun at Clark. He was instantly on guard, although, knowing that Clark could handle himself he disillusioned himself and moved to a position behind Clark. Clark was powerful, fast and strong, but Harry didn't know if a bullet would be harmful to him.

"To help Alicia, I had to understand her obsession so I studied you." The man said. Harry delved into his mind and saw that he was Alicia's physiatrist at Belle Reve. He flicked through the man's memories of what happened seconds before Harry turned up and saw that the man threatened Alicia to stay away from Clark.

"It wasn't hard," The man Harry knew to be Dr. McBride continued. "The sheriff's files are filled with your unexplained appearances at violent crime scenes. The classic earmarks of a troubled teen. Don't worry, they don't send kids like you to jail. They send them to me... at Belle Reve."

A slightly mad look crossed the man's face at the same moment Harry caught a flash of green from behind McBride as Alicia teleported into the barn. Harry was sure his ability of magic was the only reason he had seen the green aura she emitted. "Clark didn't do anything." Alicia protested.

McBride turned around quickly, realising who was there, "What are you doing here?" he asked her, his voice softening slightly. A quick glance in Alicia's mind verified everything that Harry had guessed that happened. She had used red meteor rock on Clark and Clark had proposed. She'd removed the red rock before they'd consummated the marriage. Her mind was more open that most Harry had sensed and the information flowed easily. Harry shivered at the minor parallels to the Tom Riddle/Merope Gaunt marriage and was thankful it had stopped before they conceived a psychopath.

"Alicia, get out of here." Clark ordered before Alicia could answer McBride. Harry could see the concern on his face. Harry waited, ready to cast a shield to stop a bullet. Whilst the spell itself was incredibly simple, casting it before the bullet hit took speed bordering on precognition. He watched McBride's trigger finger closely.

McBride turned quickly round to Clark, clearly unhappy about him giving his patient orders, "Don't tell her what to do!" he shouted.

"Clark, I know I made a huge mistake. You're the only person who's ever really known me." Alicia said quickly, ignoring McBride's outburst.

McBride looked hurt by her comment, "Alicia…"

She continued to ignore him, looking at Clark, "And when I'm with you, I feel normal. I'll always love you for that."

McBride was enraged by her declaration, "No! I'm not gonna let him keep hurting you!"

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Alicia protested, looking pleading at McBride.

"This ends now!" he shouted and turned back towards Clark. Harry was prepared and seeing McBride's trigger finger tense, cast a shield to stop physical items. The spell was obscure as most magic users didn't think anything but magic was a threat to them and therefore had no need to learn. The pale blue, almost invisible shield appeared inches in front of Clark.

Harry noticed his mistake too late. Without any time to alter the spell Alicia began to glow green for a millisecond before the same green aura appeared directly in front of Clark, right in _front_ of his shield. He was amazed by her reaction time and could only watch as the bullet pierced the blonde girl's chest. She screamed, thrown back from the force. Harry cancelled his shield and she fell into Clark's arms, blood beginning to darken her pale jumper. Clark caught her and slowly lowered her to the ground.

"Alicia!" McBride yelled in shock and moved as if to run over to her.

Pissed off that his shield hadn't worked as planned, Harry dropped his disillusionment charm and waved his hand towards the man, "Reducto!" Harry called, not even bothering with silent casting. Pale yellow light shot from Harry's hand, catching the surprised man in the chest, propelling him backwards into the barn wall. He was unconscious before he hit the ground.

Harry looked down at Clark and Alicia. Clark was clearly too surprised to do anything other than comfort the girl. The bullet had thankfully just missed her heart. Whilst not in momentary danger, she needed to get to the hospital immediately.

"We should probably get to a hospital, don't you think?" Alicia asked Clark weakly, echoing Harry's thoughts.

Clark was about to respond when Harry stepped forward into Clark's line of vision. "Hold on." Harry said before clasping each other their shoulders and Apparating them both to the entrance of Smallville Medical Centre. Despite his years of magic, he had seen gunshot wounds before during an unfortunate Death Eater raid in a town called Credenhill in Herefordshire, two miles from an SAS training ground. Voldemort, for all his magical knowledge had no idea what he was doing when he sent his men to that location.

The SAS, knowing about magic, had arrived quickly and swiftly and had proceeded to fire upon all the magic users in the area from a safe distance, doing so remarkably well. Colin Creevey had taken a bullet to the chest, just like Alicia and died moments afterwards. Harry counted himself as lucky. He'd been shot in the left shoulder but had still been able to fight through the pain.

From what he'd seen of Alicia's bullet wound, she was in trouble. The moment Harry landed he allowed his manipulation of electricity to shut down all the security camera's in the area, or so he hoped, cutting off their signal before they recorded anything they shouldn't. Clark looked around in surprise at their new location before noticing that Alicia was unconscious, the strain of Apparition, especially triple Apparition being too much for her. Harry focused on the automatic doors and opened them. "Gun shot wound!" he shouted.

Clark stood, picking up the unconscious Alicia in his arms and carrying her towards the Medical Centre. They were met at the door by several members of staff, two of them pushing a gurney out with them. "What happened?" The doctor asked quickly as Clark gently placed her on the gurney.

Harry, being use to situations similar responded quickly and clearly, "Gun shoot wound to the chest only a couple of minutes ago. Bullet just missed her heart. She lost consciousness a few seconds ago."

The doctor spoke quickly to the man and woman with her as they pushed Alicia through the hallways of Smallville Medical. They pushed her into surgery. "I'm sorry," The doctor said. "You'll have to wait here." She turned around and entered a room to scrub up. Harry and Clark said nothing, merely turning back the way they came, heading to the waiting room. They sat down. Clark glanced worriedly towards the direction he knew Alicia was.

"You alright?" Harry asked Clark.

"I'll be fine when Alicia gets out." Clark answered. Harry nodded and leaned back on his chair. They were silent for a minute.

"What the hell happened Clark?" Harry asked.

Clark looked round, "What?"

"What happened with Alicia? I think I know most of it, but what the hell?"

"You know what happened?" Clark asked, slightly paler than before.

"Alicia's mind is rather open, far more than most. I'm sure I saw most of it." Harry said. Whilst he didn't want to lie to Clark, he didn't want him to know that he could track people around the world with only a thought. He already had enough powers as far as Clark knew and he couldn't be adding on them all the time.

"You remember when I told you that the red meteor rock messes with my mind?" Clark asked, keeping his voice quiet. Harry cast a notice-me-not charm around them and nodded.

"She slipped you some." Harry said.

Clark nodded, "She gave me a necklace that she said she made in Belle Reve as a goodbye present. I put it on and…" he trailed off.

"You went to Vegas and got married." Harry finished for him.

Clark nodded, "Just before… well, after we," he frowned, clearly struggling to say it aloud. "Got married, she removed the necklace and I realised what I'd done. She teleported away before I could do anything."

"So she knew about your powers then?" Harry asked.

Clark nodded, "She found a few of them out last year, the same time I found out about hers. We saved each other even though neither needed help. That's why we got talking in the first place."

Harry nodded, "What about her doctor?" Harry asked, only unsure of why the doctor had gone to such harsh measures.

"I think he was in love with Alicia. I think he thought that when Alicia got out of Belle Reve, she'd want to be with him." Clark said, glancing towards the surgery.

Harry remained silent. This whole situation really was a mess. The only thing that seemed to have gone well was for Harry and that was with Clark not noticing or at least not mentioning the shield Harry had cast or the curse he'd hit McBride with.

Thinking about Alicia's doctor Harry remembered that he was unconscious in Clark's barn. Yes, he would be for a while given the spell he hit the man with, but he still had to be dealt with. Fortunately, the man was just a normal man and therefore could be dealt with in the normal way. "Clark," Harry said. Clark turned to face Harry, "I've got a few things I need to do. I'll let your mum and dad know what happened."

"Thanks Harry." Clark said with a nod.

With that Harry stood and Disapparated away, the notice-me-not charm fading instantly as he left. He Apparated into the Kent barn, only a few feet away from where the incident had taken place. McBride was still unconscious and there was some blood stained straw on the ground where Alicia fell. He weighed the options of what to do to the man. This man had just tried to murder his friend, his only male friend here. Killing him would be easy as would hiding his body. He could just tell Clark that they man had disappeared before he got there.

That was wrong though. This man could be dealt with properly by the law. Whilst he didn't trust the law to deal with, well, anything, he couldn't see how they could screw this up. He pulled his PDA from his jacket pocket and dialled '911'. He informed them of the situation and sat down on a bail of hay waiting.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Sheriff Adams turned up five minutes afterwards with another officer and took Harry's statement, saying they would visit Clark and get his account of what happened. Hopefully Clark had enough common sense to tell a similar story. Neither the Kent's nor Lois had come out during. Watching the Sheriff's car drive away Harry turned and headed towards the Kent home.

He knocked on the door and Lois answered with a smile. It had always impressed Harry at how comfortable she was when staying at the Kent's. She was able to just take over the house and do as she pleased – within reason – and be fine with it. Harry still felt as though he was a bother whenever he came over for a meal, something that happened at least once a week at in the insistence of Mrs. Kent. She had apparently taken to Harry, not quite as much as Mrs. Weasley had, but on a much milder scale, something that Harry greatly appreciated.

"Hey Harry." Lois said, hugging him in greeting. Harry smiled back. Whilst he'd only seen her a week ago in Metropolis during a pub crawl, not what the American's called it, but he preferred the British saying, he still enjoyed seeing her.

"Hey Lois," Harry said, breaking apart from the hug. "How's things?"

"Oh, fine." Lois said easily as she moved away from the door, letting him into the house. He followed her and watched with a smile as she rummaged through the cupboards for a glass. Harry raised an eyebrow, knowing without magic that something had happened in the last week at Met U. Whilst Lois didn't exactly have adventures like he and Clark did, she was a trouble magnet. Merlin save her if it ever got worse.

Lois noticed his look, "So I may have been called in front of the disciplinary board again and given a warning."

Harry rolled his eyes and took at seat at the table whilst Lois poured herself a glass of lemonade. "That's how many warnings now?" Harry asked, knowing it not to be the first.

"Two, maybe three." Lois said easily, looking somewhat amused.

Harry sighed exaggeratedly, "Do I want to know what you did this time?"

"I may have turned up for a class still a little drunk and having had an hour sleep before hand wasn't a good plan." Lois said with a smile showing that she wasn't bothered. Harry wondered why she even at University.

Harry rolled her eyes, use to Lois's alcohol induced adventures, "Isn't the saying 'three strikes and you're out'?" Harry asked.

"They won't kick me out. It's not like it's just me that does it." Lois said.

Harry rolled his eyes again, "You get caught though. Do I need to stop getting you access to bars and clubs?"

Lois shook her head. Whilst going around Metropolis with Harry she'd never once been ID'd. She'd tried to get back into some of the places she'd gone with Harry but without him she was denied entrance. She couldn't work out how he managed it. What she didn't know was that Harry used minor legilimancy in order to convince the bouncers outside the clubs that they were old enough, given that neither _were _actually old enough. Harry tended to avoid the larger clubs however. The loud noise and bright flashing lights made him uneasy as being attacked in such a location would be hard to defend against.

"You can't do that. I can't just go to frat parties all the time. I need _some_ variety." Lois said.

"Have you tried studying?" Harry asked dryly.

"I do study." Lois answered quickly.

"You done your assigned reading for this week?" Harry asked, knowing all too well that she wouldn't have.

"I've skimmed it." Lois answered.

Harry gave up with his line of questioning, it wasn't his responsibility and he knew that Lois would land on her feet no matter what happened. She seemed the type to. Changing the subject Harry asked, "Do you know where the Kent's are?" He assumed they were out, given that he hadn't heard any noise throughout the house since he arrived. It also wouldn't be a surprise if Lois was in the house herself, given that she acted as though she owned it most of the time.

"Mrs. Kent's working at the Talon and I'm not sure where Mr. Kent is. Haven't seen the newly weds yet today though." Lois finished with an exasperated look.

Harry opened his mouth, about to mention where the 'newly weds' were when an odd though popped into his head, "Lois, you've been here for the last hour by yourself, right?"

"Yeah," Lois answered a bit uneasily at the somewhat strange question and the look on Harry's face.

"What exactly have you been doing?" Harry asked oddly.

"Nothing, just listening to music." Lois said, still not seeing where this was going.

Harry sighed. Lois had missed quite an afternoon. "So you're not aware of the shoot-out that took place in the barn or the police car that turned up 20 minutes afterwards?" Harry asked, almost incredulously. She had military training, granted, limited military training, but how someone could miss that was beyond him.

The look on her face was quite amusing. "What? What happened?" she asked quickly.

"Alicia, Clark's girl, was shot defending Clark from her psychiatrist." Lois looked doubtful and he couldn't blame her. "Seriously, she was shot in the chest and they've got in her in surgery at the moment. That's why I'm here looking for the Kent's."

"Is she going to be alright?" Lois asked.

Harry shrugged, "Not sure, didn't look overly promising when she was taken in."

Despite not overly caring for Alicia, Lois still looked worried. Harry wondered if Lana's reaction would be any different given her history with the blonde teleporter. He had seen that Lana had a dark streak when pushed far enough. It worried Harry somewhat that he found he liked that quality about her.

Harry stood, "I'm going to let the Kent's know where Clark is. Was good seeing you Lois."

Lois nodded at him. Harry stopped by the door, "You and Chloe'll be at the Talon tonight, right?"

"It was the plan." Lois said.

"See you then." Harry said over his shoulder, before walking out of sight and Apparating to the Talon back alley. He walked round to the front doors and entered. The place was relatively quiet for at Saturday and Mrs. Kent was sitting by herself doing paperwork. The expression on her face said she knew all about Clark's night.

"Hi Mrs. Kent," Harry said, sitting down opposite her. She looked up and smiled slightly

"Hello Harry, how are you?" she asked, making another note on the Talon forms in front of her. Harry knew she didn't have to work here anymore given the fact that they had no outstanding medical bills but Clark had said that she enjoyed having a reason to spend outside the house.

"Can't complain really. Have you heard from Clark?" Harry asked.

Harry felt the anger and disappointment Mrs. Kent was currently holding at Clark when he looked her in the eyes, "I have."

"Have you heard from him in the last hour?" Harry said, rephrasing his question.

"I've haven't," she said.

"Well, I'm playing messenger. Clark is at the Medical Centre just now. Alicia's psychiatrist tried to shoot Clark and Alicia teleported in front of the bullet. She's in surgery just now but Clark is waiting for news by himself." Clark said.

"She took a bullet for him?" she asked. Harry was somewhat surprised that he didn't sense any worry when the scenario of Clark getting shot played in her mind. Harry saw her imagination show the bullets merely hitting Clark in the chest and falling to the ground. It seemed he was bullet proof as well if what Mrs. Kent's mind created was to be believed. He'd have to ask.

"I saw it happen. She took it to the chest so there's no telling how she'll be." Harry shrugged, "I'll see you around Mrs. Kent." Harry got up, heading towards the counter.

"Linda," Mrs. Kent said to the woman manning the counter. "I've got to take off for a while."

"Sure thing Mrs. Kent," Assistant manger Linda called back. Harry watched Mrs. Kent pull all her paperwork in a folder and leave quickly.

"What was that about?" Linda asked Harry.

He considered his answer. Most of the town would know the details soon but he didn't want to be the one to spread it, "Family problems." Harry said, taking his coffee and leaving.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was a day later that Harry turned up again at the Smallville Medical Centre on his motorcycle. He ignored the disapproving looks the medical staff were giving him for not wearing any protective gear and made his way into the centre. He'd received a call from Clark a couple hours ago telling him that Alicia was fine and would be fit to be discharged soon. He and his mother had gone home, leaving Alicia by herself. Having never met the girl properly, Harry was curious to.

Finding the room number for an orderly's mind, Harry walked through the medical centre, absently conjuring a red lily when no one was looking. He walked past the room to her window and saw she was awake and staring blankly forward; a look of intense thought if he ever saw one.

He knocked on the door and she looked up, "Um, come in." she said, somewhat hesitantly. Knowing she would more than likely be the town pariah it was understandable.

"Alicia, right?" Harry asked, despite knowing she was. He looked into her eyes and saw her mind.

"I am," said Alicia, still hesitantly.

He moved over to her beside and took at seat, "I'm Harry. I'm a friend of Clark's." He saw her smile slightly, but the nervousness was still there. Harry wasn't surprised given that she'd tried to murder one of Clark's friends in her previous time in town. "Here." He said, handing over the red lily. They were his favourites and would last just as long as a normal flower would.

She smelt the lily and smiled properly this time, apparently deciding that if Harry brought her flowers he wasn't going to threaten or attack her. "It's beautiful," she said. He pushed away the thoughts of an Unspeakable being strangled with Devils Snare disguised as a potted plant in his 5th year. "Don't I know you?" Alicia asked.

"We've never officially met but I was there before you lost consciousness." Harry said.

"Oh," Alicia said. "You're new in Smallville?"

Harry nodded, "Moved here a few months ago. I've made with friends with Clark and his group."

"And Lana?" Alicia asked hesitantly.

"She was my first friend here but I've learned to judge people on the person themselves, not their reputation and I thought I'd come see what you were like myself." Harry said, knowing she was worried about Lana's influence. Again, understandable. Other than her mind being slightly more open that most she seemed perfectly sane. Having met a good number of psychopaths, he could tell the difference.

"Thank you." Alicia said sincerely.

"How's the injury?" Harry asked, changing the subject.

"Still sore but the doctor said the bullet didn't hit anything vital and got lodged in a rib. They said I can be released today." Alicia said.

Harry nodded, "I know the feeling. You'll be a bit stiff for a few weeks but you'll hardly notice it after."

"You've been shot before?" she asked in surprise.

Harry pulled his t-shirt away from his right shoulder and showed her the circular wound he'd received from an SAS sharpshooter. He was lucky the bullet hadn't taken his arm off. The only reason his arm still worked was due to thin dragonhide lining his robes had had. That had taken the edge off the bullet. "A few years ago. I was in the wrong place at the wrong time. It healed alright though."

"That's good to know." She said with a small smile. He could see why Clark was attracted to her. She really was beautiful.

"So, are you going to stay in Smallville or just see where the… teleportation takes you?" Harry asked curiously. In the darker regions of his mind he wanted her to stay purely for the fact that Clark dating Alicia would probably end Clark's chance with Lana for good. That would give him some chance of a relationship with her. He clamped down on those thoughts. They were not thoughts he wanted.

Alicia looked unsure, "I… I want to stay here, to stay with Clark but…" she trailed off.

"But staying in a town where people will constantly be watching and judging you isn't something you want to live with," Harry finished for her. In his time in Hogwarts he'd experienced similar situations.

Alicia seemed to pick up on that, "That's happened to you as well?"

"I'm living 4,500 miles from where I was born," Harry said with a smile, allowing her to come to her own conclusions.

"Does it get better?" she asked quietly.

Harry considered the answer. Despite them both being in somewhat similar situations, they were still different. He had mostly gotten over the accusing stares and whispers that had been aimed at him during his reign as 'Heir of Slytherin' and of being known as a 'delusional attention seeking child' in his 5th year, but he never forgot of the accusations. His friends had also gotten over his attempt of trying to kill them when he had first laid hands on the Elder Wand, but that incident had a clear cut reason as to _why_ it happened. Alicia didn't have anything close to it.

"Honestly?" Harry asked. The blonde girl nodded hesitantly, "It would take months, maybe close to a year before the town trusted you. With your ability, a lot of people would never stop watching you. If you stayed, it could work out, but I'm not really sure. I've found things are easier where you can start over."

"I thought so," she said, sadly

Harry glanced at his watch, having to go meet with Lois and Chloe soon. "I'm meeting up with some people just now, but I'll see you around?" Harry said.

She smiled again, albeit a sad smile, "Maybe."

Harry nodded and stood up to leave, "I'm sorry I couldn't say anything comforting." He opened the door and left.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Next Chapter – __**Disapparate**_


	20. Disapparate

**AN:** _Thank you to everyone who has reviewed so far! Over 500 reviews now! I love watching that counter rise. Here's the next chapter and it's by far the longest that I've posted. It was initially split in half but when editing it I decided to just let the chapter be longer._

_Let me know what you think._

_Enjoy._

**Chapter 20 - Disapparate**

_(Friday, December 17th, 2004)_

Having spent an hour trying his animagus transformation again and after achieving very little he gave up for the time being, Knowing that Lois had free reign over Smallville with no one to at least try keep her in order, he grabbed his motorcycle and drove to the Talon.

Pulling up outside the building and being reminded of what the Talon had planned tonight, he shivered. Taking a deep breathe he opened the door and shook his head at the sadistic acts that were taking place.

Karaoke.

He saw Lois and Chloe near the stage cheering on the wannabe singers with sheer delight on their faces and he prayed they didn't try pressuring him into singing. If lightning struck whoever tried, well, he couldn't be held responsible for that.

He nodded towards Lana and Jason who were slightly further back in the crowd and he moved to sit with Chloe and Lois. They both looked up and smiled as he sat down, "Harry! Where have you been? This is so much fun!" Chloe had to shout her greeting due to the noise of the crowd's cheers and laughter.

"If Lois wasn't here I'd be somewhere else." Harry told them back, not bothering to order a drink. "This event is evil."

Lois smiled at him, somewhat seductively, "You came here to see me?" she asked.

Harry rolled his eyes, "No, I came here to protect everyone else _from_ you." He glanced at the stage where someone he didn't know was singing a song he had never heard and doing so badly. An idea sprung to mind, "From the evil that's happening here tonight my best guess is to keep you from getting up there and singing."

Lois looked affronted, "I'll have you know that I'm a great singer!"

"Pfft," Harry muttered. "I've heard you sing and it's not good. Tragic even." Whilst he had heard Lois sing he had no idea whether or not her singing was good, he just liked arguing with her. It finally made some sense to him why Ron had argued with Hermione so much. He'd never really argued with Ron or Hermione over trivial issues, but now that was what Lois was for.

"I'll prove it then!" Lois said determinately, although clearly amused. Harry smiled back, even knowing that despite the fact he'd egged her on, she'd have done it anyway. Her determination to prove others wrong was like a big red button waiting to be pushed and it provided Harry no small amount of fun to do so. Lois' gaze moved to Chloe and she smiled in a way that made Harry thankful wasn't aimed at him.

"Come on cuz, lets show Evans what we can do!" Lois said to her, standing up and trying to drag Chloe over to the stage.

Chloe quickly realised what Lois wanted, "Nuh huh, not gonna happen Lois."

"Come on Chlo! Just one song and I'll let you sit back down."

Chloe sighed and Harry and Lois both knew that she'd conceded. Lois was obviously set on doing something and nothing could stop her when she tried. She pulled her cousin to her feet and they both moved over to the stage. Harry just watched with a smile. For all of Chloe's protesting he could see she was looking forward to singing with Lois. He glanced around him and caught sight of Lana standing next to Jason with a huge smile on her face as she watched her friends.

Harry's gaze shifted to Jason. Something about that man bothered him and it was getting worse. He'd always had a sense for knowing when something bad was going to happen to him and it was acting up when around Lana's boyfriend. The man's mind also wasn't clear when he looked into it. Having not spent much time around him, he still hadn't sussed the problem.

A song started and Harry turned back to the cousins, stealing the remains of Lois' coffee as he did. He didn't recognise the song, but based on the reactions of those listening, they did.

"_I saw him dancin' there by the record machine I knew he must 'a been about seventeen. The beat was going strong. Playin' my favourite song,_" They both sang at once, both with huge smiles on their faces. Lois was clearly leading the duo but Chloe was giving all she could. They looked like sisters.

"_He smiled so I got up an' asked for his name_," They sang. Lois stepped off the stage over to someone Harry recognised from his year group. "You right there," she said flirtatiously to him.

"_He said it doesn't matter 'cause it's all the same. I said, can I take you home where we can be alo-woe-wone? And then we were movin' on and he was with me. Yeah, me."_ They continued. They guy Lois kept her eyes on smiled back, slightly uncomfortable and embarrassed by the attention.

"_Next we're movin' on and he was with me, yeah, me singin' I love rock and roll! So put another dime in the jukebox, baby! I love rock and roll, so come and take your time and dance with me!_" The singing stopped and Chloe and Lois turned to the direction of the entrance, along with the rest of the Talon occupants. The music kept playing.

Harry saw the cause of the commotion and sighed in exasperation. At the door was Clark, standing next to a shy looking Alicia. By the way they were holding each other it was obvious that it was a date. _Why_ Clark had brought here on a busy night, he had no idea but he'd obviously assumed Clark or Alicia had more common sense than they were displaying.

"First he married the girl, now he's dating her?" Lois asked Chloe in a quiet voice. Unfortunately, Lois being Lois, said this right in the microphone she had just been singing in. The microphone squeak as she finished her comment, drawing her attention to what just happened. Harry dropped his head in his hands, "Oh Lois…" he muttered to himself. The only way to make this situation worse was for someone to come in a start killing people.

"That was subtle, Lois," Chloe said, chastising her older cousin.

"Right," Lois muttered, clearly embarrassed. Whether it was over her comment or the fact that she had broadcast it loudly, Harry wasn't sure.

"Good," Chloe said back, glad that Lois at least knew what she did was wrong.

Clark glared at Lois from the door of the now silent building. Alicia turned to Clark looking for guidance, assurance, or just something to make the situation better. The tension in the room was thick and Harry wasn't sure if there was anything he could do to help. He was, after all, still the new guy and Alicia had a history with this town. Despite wanting to do something, it wasn't his place to.

"I think I've seen enough for one night," he heard Lana say in disgust to Jason. She pushed her chair back and quickly made her way to the stairs that led to her apartment. Alicia moved over to her.

"Lana, wait," she called. Lana stopped, turning to Alicia and glaring at her. "I just want to apologize," Alicia told her sincerely.

Lana laughed angrily, "For what? Trying to kill me or not succeeding?"

Harry winced, despite everything that had happened, that was still painfully harsh. A glance at several other people showed they thought the same.

Alicia didn't take the bait, "Look, all I want is a chance to prove to you who I really am."

"You already have," Lana told her before turning around and walking quickly up the stairs. Jason and Clark moved to follow her but Jason stopped Clark.

"I can't believe you brought her here," he said angrily to Clark.

"Jason, listen…" Clark said, almost pleadingly with the former High school football coach.

"Listen to what? Another apology?" Alicia walked from the Talon, a dejected look on her face. "You think just 'cause she says she's better that everything's gonna be okay? Come on, man," Jason said angrily before turning and following Lana up the stairs.

Clark stood where he was for a moment, trying to work out what to do next. Leaving Clark to his fate he walked out of the Talon to find Alicia. Clark could handle himself. He walked out the door and found Alicia leaning against the building. There were no tears but sadness was coming off her in waves, something his legilimancy picked up easily.

"I'm not going to even bother asking how you are," Harry said, causing her to jump slightly, not having heard him coming. "That can't have been easy."

She sighed, "I didn't know what was going to happen, but I thought I'd turn out better than that."

"Lana was a bit out of line with what she said but it's still got to be difficult for her. You proved yourself to Clark and I like you, but everyone else still see's who they saw last time."

"I know they don't have any reason to trust me, I just…" she trailed off again.

"Hoped they would," Harry finished for her. "It was never going to be easy."

They both turned at the sound of footsteps behind them and saw Clark approaching them. He reached them and pulled Alicia into a hug. "I'm sorry about that Alicia," Clark said to her. "I didn't think they'd react like that."

Harry resisted the urge to shake his head at Clark's overly trusting nature. He saw the world purely as black and white and as his friends were 'white' in his eyes, they'd forgive Alicia as well. It was wishful thinking and a view point that Clark needed to grow out of. That view point got people killed.

"Can you take me home?" Alicia asked Clark softly.

"Sure," Clark said.

Alicia turned to Harry. "Harry, thanks," she said.

Harry nodded, "See you around Alicia." He stood in the same spot and watched the two walk away, Clark with an arm around Alicia's shoulder. He wondered if he'd ever find a relationship like that for himself. _'More wishful thinking,' _he though to himself. He looked up into the clear sky and stared at the half moon above him, tuning out the world around him.

He didn't know how long he stood there for or even if he'd actually been thinking of anything when he felt an arm on his shoulder. He spun from the contact, only just stopping himself from switching into a fighting pose. "Are you alright?" Lois asked looking concerned with Chloe by her side.

"Fine," Harry said, his heart rate slowing to normal levels. "Just tired I guess. Why are you outside?" he asked.

"Smallville and his arm ornament sucked the fun out of the night and a lot of people were tired as well I guess," Lois said.

"Well, they saved us from Karaoke, that's a point in their favour," Harry told them.

Lois rolled her eyes, "You know you enjoyed it so stop trying with the macho crap." Harry looked at her with a frown. "Oh, and don't think I didn't see you steal my coffee!"

"Coffee?" Harry asked innocently before beginning to walk down the street, Lois and Chloe following close behind. "What coffee?"

Lois pointed a finger at him, "Don't even try it buster! You took my coffee and you'll be getting me another one."

Harry rolled his eyes, "And my buying you pretty much all you drink when we're in Metropolis doesn't help me in any way?"

"It's the principal of the thing," Lois told him, matter of fact. "You offer to buy me drinks, who am I to refuse? You just took _my_ drink without asking."

Harry laughed, "Are we forgetting that you just took _my_ wallet last time and started buying the drinks?"

She rolled her eyes, "You were going to offer anyway so I just sped up the process and removed the middle man."

"You realise you're starting to sound like a married couple?" Chloe interjected.

"Oh god Chlo, shoot me first. Married to him?" Lois said a look of horror on her face.

"Hey!" Harry protested. "At least I don't snore."

"I _don't _snore," Lois protested, perhaps a bit too strongly to work as much of a defence.

"That's not the way Clark tells it," Harry told, knowing he'd just won their argument. Throwing in Clark's name was a low blow as far as Lois was concerned, but Harry knew you had to fight dirty.

"I'll kill him when I see him next," Lois muttered furiously. Harry tried to hide his smile but wasn't all that successful. Chloe saw him and returned a discreet smile back. They continued walking with no destination, Harry feeling incredibly relaxed. It always amazed him how just a simple chat, or argument, with Lois could make feel like he was a teenager, something he rarely felt, even though he was in fact still 19.

"Odd question," Harry asked, realising he could see the Talon again. "Where are we going?"

Lois looked at him oddly, "We were following you."

"Really?" Harry asked. "Why?"

Lois rolled her eyes, "'Cause you seemed to have a clue where you were going."

"Oh," Harry said, realising his mind has tuned out whilst talking with Lois. "I had no idea." He leaned against the nearest wall, "So what are we going to do now?"

"I thought you said you were tired," Chloe pointed out.

Harry smiled at her before glancing over at Lois, "Lois' coffee woke me up." Chloe laughed loudly whilst Lois glared. "Want to come back to mine, watch films or whatever?"

"Sit and listen to Lois patronize whichever one you pick? Sure," Chloe told him.

"If you'd let me pick the film, we won't have that problem, will we?" Lois informed them.

"Is it safe to do that?" Harry asked Chloe in a loud whisper.

Chloe looked at Lois curiously, as if trying to work out her answer. She sighed, "I suppose it wouldn't be the end of the world."

"I hate you both," Lois told them, matter of fact.

"You don't, and that's why you're coming with us."

"Fine," Lois said, sounding annoyed but Harry could read here well enough to know that she wasn't by any means.

"Well, as I only have my bike, I'll meet you both there."

They arrived back at the Talon, heading towards Chloe's car that Harry had parked beside. He sat on his bike, putting the keys in the ignition. "You know," Chloe said. "You're going to end up falling off that thing one of these days and you'll be wanting to wear a helmet when you do."

Harry just nodded at her, having discussed it a few times with her. She wasn't all that fond of his bike. He was the only one that knew he was in no danger though as his magic provided more protection than any helmet could. "I have a very hard head," Harry reminded her. His argument had never worked.

He gunned the engine, pushing the bike back. "I'll see you there," before driving, carefully in order to appease Chloe, away from the Talon.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry sat on his couch, watching the film Lois had chosen with rabid interest. Whilst it was one of his films she had selected, having just picked up a large amount during his first shopping trip to Metropolis, he hadn't watch that many of them, not having gotten into a habit of watching TV or DVD's yet. Still, Lois had taken 15 minutes to actually chose a film and 10 of those minutes had been used to mock Harry for the films he had.

He ignored her with incredible skill, having survived 8 years of arguments between Ron and Hermione.

They'd finally put on a film and Harry had given Lois a beer. "You know," she told him. "That this doesn't count as repaying me for my coffee?"

Harry didn't take his eyes from the screen when he replied, "Then you can buy your own drinks next time we're in Atlantis." Harry told her.

Atlantis was Harry's club of choice in Metropolis. Given its name it had instantly attracted him and he enjoyed what nights he spent there. Whilst he had never thought clubbing would be something that would interest him, going with someone who knew what they were doing, Lois, made things far more enjoyable. He had been reasonably tense the first time she had attempted her luck at getting into a club with Harry when she noticed that no one eve asked him for ID. The lights and the loud music had him in combat mode most the night, seeing spells come from locations that were only flashing coloured lights.

Eventually he had gotten into the swing of things and allowed himself to forget about magic for a short while and just act his own age.

"You'll never keep that promise," Lois told him with out doubt. "I'm the poor college girl and you're the rich boy. You wouldn't have the heart not to buy my drinks."

"You'd probably kill me if I tried," Harry conceded.

"Exactly, now shut up and watch the film," Lois told him.

Harry glanced over at Chloe who had been watching them more than the movie. He shook his head and sighed quietly getting a smile from her. They both knew that Harry's interaction with Lois was in no way romantic.

_(Flashback)_

_Harry sat in the Talon, finishing his biology homework. The work itself was easy due to the information he had absorbed but that unfortunately didn't stop the teachers giving him homework. It also didn't stop them from doing their best to give him __**more **__work than others due to him already knowing the course work. He had realised showing the extent of his knowledge was a bad idea after he had done it; admitting aloud that he had a photographic memory, that was just as bad, as it hadn't taken long for his teachers to find that out_

_It was moments like these that made him wonder if he was in his right mind when he decided to go back to school._

_A chair pulled out in front of him and Chloe sat down, a mug of coffee in her hand, as always. He idly wondered how long it would take her to get addicted if she ever tried a Pepper-up potion. _'Probably days,'_ Harry thought to himself._

"_Hey," Chloe said, glancing over his essay. "How you getting on with that?"_

_Harry shrugged, "Same as usual. I know the stuff and just have to write it down."_

"_Okay," Chloe said. Harry glanced at her and her eyes told him she was here for a reason._

"_What's up Chloe?" Harry asked, putting his pen down._

"_So," Chloe said, as if not hearing the question. "You and Lois seem to be getting awfully close."_

"_She's my friend," Harry told her, looking at her oddly._

"_Just a friend?" she asked._

"_What do you…" he trailed off, realising what she meant. "Me and Lois?" he asked in surprise._

"_So there's nothing going on there then?" she asked him._

"_I'll be the first person to admit not being good at this stuff, but I'm fairly sure there isn't." He looked at her closely, "Why?"_

_Chloe took a deep breath, "Lois is very comfortable around you, more so than I can remember seeing her around people in while."_

"_So you think she 'likes me' likes me?" Harry asked._

_Chloe nodded, "She'd deny it if ever asked, but I think she's starting to. I'm fairly certain you don't like her like that and I just wanted to let you know."_

_Harry sighed, that wasn't especially good. The same thing had happened with Ginny Weasley when she'd gotten over her crush and gotten to know him. She'd fallen in love with him whilst he only considered himself a good friend of hers, bordering on brother. It had always left a slight awkwardness between them and he didn't want that happening with Lois. Whilst Chloe said that her cousin was comfortable around him and he was just as much so with her._

"_You're sure about this?" Harry asked her. "She's seems just as comfortable around Clark…" Realising that he already knew Lois was in serious denial about her attraction to Clark. "Oh…" Harry muttered quietly._

_Chloe rolled her eyes, "Yeah, 'oh'. Just be careful around her though, okay?"_

_Harry nodded, lost in his own thoughts for a moment. "Why didn't you think I was attracted to her?" Harry asked curiously._

_Chloe snorted, "The way you look at Lana? Please. You haven't even glanced at Lois like that."_

_Harry sighed. Obviously he hadn't done a good enough of job hiding that fact, but then again, she was a reporter at heart. "Nothing's ever going to happen between Lana and I," Harry told her._

"_Why not?" Chloe asked, curious._

_Harry rolled her eyes at her this time, "You know perfectly well why."_

_She nodded after a moments silence and Harry could feel the sadness in her mind. The reason Harry knew nothing would happen with Lana was because of Clark. Both Clark and Lana loved each other, even if they wouldn't admit it to each other. Harry was certain that if Lana ever broke up with Jason, she'd get together with Clark if she could. The same worked for Clark which was the cause of Chloe's sadness. It seemed that all three of Clark's female friends were attracted to him beyond the lines of friendship._

_Love made everything so bloody complicated._

_(End Flashback)_

Harry's mental trip to the past was interrupted by Chloe's phone ringing. He glanced over at her.

"Hi Jason," Chloe said. "What?" she said quickly. "What happened? Is she ok?" Harry's interest as well as his worry increase. "Yeah, I'm with Harry and Lois just now. We'll be over there soon." She hung up the phone and stood up.

"What happened?" Harry asked quickly.

"Lana's been attacked."

**OoOoOoOoO**

It took 10 minutes for them to reach Smallville Medical Centre, Chloe driving them. Harry idly wondered what they'd spend the money on that he'd donated them. With a swiftness that proved she'd been in here far more often than she should have, Chloe led the way through the quiet Medical Centre to the rooms that she knew Lana would have to be near.

Seeing Lana's boyfriend Jason standing guard outside her room talking with Sheriff Adams, it wasn't hard to guess which room she was in. "How is she?" Chloe asked Jason as soon as they were within talking distance.

"She's resting now but she'll be fine," Jason told them.

"What happened?" Harry asked, his mind slowly entering fight mode.

Jason took a long glance at Harry before speaking, "She was attacked in the apartment. She was showering, I heard her struggling, kicked the door down and found her unconscious in the shower. Someone had been it that room and they'd try to suffocate her with the shower curtain."

"You're _sure_ someone was in the room with her?" Harry asked, seeing where this was leading. "She didn't trip and knock herself out?"

Jason frowned at Harry, "She said that someone pulled the curtain around her and that she'd thought someone was in there just before. She says she was attacked, she was attacked and it doesn't take a genius to work out who did it."

"What do you mean?" Chloe asked.

"The door was locked from the inside and whoever attacked her was gone when I got into the room."

"You think Alicia did this," Chloe stated.

"Is there any doubt?" Jason responded, already having tried and convicted her.

Harry snorted in disbelief. "You got somethin' to say about this?" Jason asked, annoyed.

"No, why would I? She's _obviously_ guilty." His tone of voice was so sarcastic, no one could have missed it. Harry was pretty sure Alicia hadn't done anything. When he'd spoken with her, perhaps an hour before Lana had been attacked he hadn't gotten any indication that she had anything planned. With her mind being more open than most, he would have known if she would have.

"You don't think Miss Baker is guilty, Mr. Evans?" Sheriff Adams asked.

"No Ma'am, I don't. I spoke with her just before she left and having been almost murdered a dozen times, I know the look in someone's eye that says when they plan on killing someone."

There was silence for a moment at Harry's comment. "You are aware that Miss Baker has a history of mental illness as well as a previous conviction of trying to murder Miss Lang? Added to the fact that she was attacked inside a locked room, well, things don't look so hot for Miss Baker."

Harry nodded, "Perhaps not, but we'll see." He looked over at Chloe, his expression softening slightly, "I'm going to call Clark, see what he has to say."

"Sure Harry," Chloe told him.

Harry turned, walking to the outside of the hospital. It was snowing lightly. He cast a warming charm on himself and dialled Clark's number. The phone rang for a few seconds before Clark picked up. "Harry, what's up?"

"How long ago did you see Alicia?" Harry asked.

"About half an hour ago. Why?"

"Lana was attacked and hospitalized. It was done behind a locked door and everyone's pointing fingers in Alicia's direction."

"Is Lana ok? What happened?" Clark asked quickly.

"She's fine, resting now. Someone tried to suffocate her with her shower curtain. Jason kicked down the door and now everyone's here at the hospital chatting with the Sheriff."

"Alicia didn't do it!" Clark protested.

"I know Clark," Harry said patiently to him. "When I spoke with her before you turned up I saw no desire or plans to attack Lana. It's someone else, but Alicia is the prime suspect."

"I'll be there soon," Clark said and hung up.

Harry sighed, pocketing his phone. He really hated this town sometimes. Not knowing if Clark would arrive in a second or 10 minutes Harry walked back into the hospital, seeing if he could spot anything new that they may have bought with the money he had donated to them. He saw nothing but the most likely thing that could have been bought was equipment, and that wasn't out to be admired.

It was a strange sensation for him to be in a hospital without being actually hospitalized.

He arrived back outside Lana's room to see Jason no longer there and Chloe and Lois looking through the window. They turned at his footsteps, "Clark says he's on his way." Chloe nodded in response and Lois looked at him curiously. "Where's Jason?"

Lois nodded towards the window, "He's with Lana." Harry glanced through the window and saw the doctor shining a light into the brunette's eyes with Jason by her side.

"Why are you _so _sure Alicia has nothing to do with this?" Lois asked, very curious but not accusing.

Harry internally sighed, knowing he had no proof that he could share, "Because I do. She was upset when she left, not angry. Someone else did this." He leaned against the wall behind him, still watching Lana through the glass. He was tempted to push a bit further into her mind but from what he knew Lana had seen nothing. The fact that she was showering and therefore naked during the attack made him very reluctant to look, despite temptation. He felt guilty enough seeing people's mind, he didn't need to add 'pervert' to that list.

"Where'd Sheriff Adams go?" Harry asked.

"She went back to the Station. She said she was going to check on Clark in the morning and get his side of things."

That was the moment Clark turned up, running in, a look of concern on his face, "How is she?" he asked, looking through the glass window

"Hey, Clark. Yeah, she's-she's fine. I mean, lucky for her, Jason pulled a T.J. Hooker and broke the bathroom door down," Chloe told him.

"T.J Hooker?" Harry quietly asked Lois.

"'80's TV Cop," Lois said. "Had a habit of kicking in doors."

"Right," Harry muttered.

"So, have they arrested your arm ornament yet?" Lois asked Clark when he turned away from Lana's room.

"Alicia didn't do this," Clark said.

"As I said I'm on Clark's side in this, I would have known if she was going to attack Lana," Harry told him.

"You're sure?" Clark asked Harry seriously, obviously getting the fact that Harry was referring to his 'mind-reading' ability. Harry nodded, missing the inquisitive look Chloe gave him

"Please!" Lois muttered. "You really think you would have _known_ she was going to try carve herself up a Jack-O-Lana before hand?"

"That's really morbid Lois," Harry muttered, trying to work out just _how_ he could solve this that didn't require him using legilimancy on the entire town.

"Well, we're not exactly in a musical here," Lois told him. "Are we?"

"Alicia didn't do this," Clark said one more time. "Ever since she was released from Belle Reve, she's been wearing her lead bracelet. It prevents her from using her abilities."

Harry couldn't help but be curious about that. If lead stopped Alicia from using her teleportation abilities, would it be able to keep a magic user from Apparating? He'd never heard a theory like it, so he had no idea.

Lois looked at Clark in disbelief, "And did she also happen to be wearing anything low-cut when she spun you that tale, 'cause I'm not sure you're thinking with you 'big' brain here."

Harry sighed, closing his eyes and banging his head once against the wall behind him. Was this what it was like to be on the other side of this situation, where everyone thinks someone attacked someone else? He'd been in Alicia's situation half a dozen times and it was just as frustrating from this side as it was from the 'guilty' person's point of view. Did people not realise, not understand what unfounded accusations did to people? By banging his head he got the attention of the other three in the corridor.

"What?" Lois asked him.

Harry sighed, "If you're going to keep trying to condemn an innocent, let me know because I'll find somewhere else to be."

Lois' expression softened slightly, seeing how clearly agitated Harry was, "You really think Alicia's innocent in this? Why?"

"Because I've been in this situation before," Harry told them truthfully. He took a deep breath and told them the condensed version of the first time this happened to him, "When I was 12 people started getting hurt at my school, almost fatally so. Thanks to a comment I'd made at the start of the year everyone thought it was me. I was an outcast from pretty much _everyone_ in the school because they thought I was trying to murder people. Being on the 'rumour starting' side of the fence is no better than being the one people want to crucify."

He got three looks of disbelief from his friends and he didn't see the looks he was getting from inside Lana's room. "They thought you were trying to kill kids when you were _twelve_?" Chloe asked in disbelief.

"Yeah, even when one of my best friends were attacked, they still thought it was me. They all thought the same thing, right until the point I found who was doing it."

"Why didn't the teachers try and stop the rumours?" Clark asked.

Harry laughed, slightly bitter, "They weren't that type of teachers. They didn't get involved, even when people were trying to lynch preteens."

Harry closed his eyes and took a deep breath. He hadn't realised just how much he still resented the magical world for his treatment. He clearly remembered the number of times students had tried slyly tripping him in order to throw him down stairs. With everything that had happened in the magic world, he had sort of forgotten just how bad some of the earlier things had been. Repressing memories when skilled at occlumency was a difficult thing to do, but apparently he'd managed.

It had taken years for him to realise that when Fred and George Weasley began walking with him to class, loudly and jokingly referring to him as the Heir of Slytherin, they were acting as body guards for him. It hadn't been until he had been reliving memories once he'd began _really_ learning Occlumency that he had caught it, as well as how many times they'd saved him.

He opened his eyes to see the concerned looks of his friends, and for the first time, the concerned looks from Lana and surprising even Jason. His mind caught up with his last sentence and winced. He didn't know why he'd told them that. He hated the looks of pity people showed him when they knew bits of his life, "I'm going to get some fresh air." He looked through the window to Lana, "I hope you feel better soon," he told her. With that, he turned and left.

As soon as he was away from the security camera he Apparated back home with a loud crack that he hadn't tried to suppress. He dropped himself down hard on his couch, feeling the comforting charms kick in and try work their magic on him. He was tense and he wanted, needed, something to do.

In the past sex would have been an option. Whilst he'd had no proper girl friends before, he had slept with a few girls. Both participants had known that it was just stress relief and nothing more but it had helped. It had made the war go away for a while. Now, he could probably Apparate to Metropolis and try and pick up a girl but he didn't have the patience for it just now.

He stood up, pacing back and forth. He needed to do _something_. With an idea he opened his front door and walked into his back garden, melting the snow away from in front of him with a steady gesture from his right hand. He took a deep breath, knowing this was going to hurt.

He clenched his hands into fists, held his head backwards, let out a frustrated yet determined scream and pushed hard with his magic. His back felt as though a thousands knives had been stabbed into him but he still pushed, needing to get rid of his frustrations. His frustrated scream quickly turned to one of pain but that didn't stop him. He heard a loud tearing sound.

Just as soon as the pain came it stopped and Harry fell to his hands and knees, breathing hard. Mentally he now felt lighter. Physically, he felt noticeably heavier. He pushed himself to his feet, uneasily, stumbling slightly before regain his balance. Casting a hovering light charm above his head and conjuring a large, but plain mirror in front of him, he surveyed his handy work.

He smiled, earlier frustration more or less forgotten.

He had wings.

Honest to God, Angel like, deep bluish-grey wings. He rotated his body slightly, trying to get a better look at himself. The wings protruded from his upper back, just below his shoulder blades and were carefully folded up, taking up as little space as they could, which considering they rose slightly up above from his head and dropped down just past his knees, was still a lot.

Curious beyond belief to know if they actually worked in this form, he tried to open and unfold his wings. He tried moving his wings like he would any other part of his body. He cried out, startled, as his wings snapped open to their widest possible length. He stumbled and only quick magic use stopped him from falling over due to the new weight distribution. He looked to his left and then to his right before back again. His wings, now spread out fully had to each be almost 8ft long. He turned to try get a better look behind him in the mirror but stopped quickly when he realised turning with his wings out full was not easy.

He tried folding them back to how they had been when he first transformed them. Slowly and unsteadily they closed up, allowing him free movement again. He slowly walked forward and quickly learned how to walk normally with wings on his back.

His mind whirled as he tried to decide what to do next. Control was what he needed. Concentrating hard he tried opening his wings again, only this time slowly and carefully. The action was a bit jumpy but he managed, repeating the action several times until he could fold them in and out without much difficulty. It was by no means instinctual like moving an arm, but he was getting there.

Curious to see if he could fly he unfolded his wings and willed them to flap. He hadn't quite realised that, as his wings were facing horizontally, he wouldn't go up. Harry cried out in shock as he was quickly and powerfully repelled backwards, landing 10ft away from his original position and lying flat on his back. His back hurt but his feathers protected him from the snow.

He smiled to himself. Feathers. He had feathers.

Folding his wings he pushed himself up again, deciding that he wasn't going to try that again tonight.

With his initial experimentation over he concentrated on getting rid of the wings. It wouldn't do for anyone to see him with them. He closed his eyes, took a deep quick breath and willed the partial transformation to reverse itself. The pain came back quickly but he pushed through it again. The wings folded into his back and vanished. He managed to keep himself on his feet this time though.

He walked back towards his mirror and examined his back, wincing slightly. It was a deep red colour and slightly swollen. That was when he realised the t-shirt he had been wearing had been completely torn to shreds. That would be a potential problem when using this aspect of the transformation. He'd see what he could do with it.

He walked back towards his house, vanishing his conjurations as he went. He needed rest and to repair his damaged back. Tomorrow, he'd see what he could do to help Alicia. He smiled slightly in amusement, "She has an Angel helping her now."

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday, December 18th, 2004)_

Harry was awoken by the vibrating of the mobile phone in his pocket. He decided there were worse ways of waking up. With a deep breath he cleared his head, answering the phone, "Harry Evans."

"Harry, its Zeke. Have you got plans for today?"

Harry cracked his neck and his shoulder, and stood up. Apparently he'd been more stressed and worn out than he'd thought. He'd been in his occlumency trance now for almost 9 hours. "Nothing Zeke. Things are a bit of a mess here, but they've survived this long without me, I'm sure the world won't end. What's up?" The added fact that it would give him some more time away from the condemning of Alicia was an added incentive to do something away from here.

"We got the government approval through an hour ago," Zeke told him sounding rather pleased.

"We're ready to start?" Harry asked, certainly awake now.

"We can have everyone here within the hour, but if we're starting this today you're going to have to be there," Zeke told him.

"Sure," Harry said. Heading through to the kitchen. "I've got nothing planned."

"No Harry, you misunderstand. I want _you_ there. This project was authorised by you and so this gets your input."

Harry understood what he meant. Zeke wanted Harry Evans, not 'Alexander Black' attending. "How long until the introduction meeting?" Harry asked.

"As you as you can get here."

Harry checked his watch again, "Give me an hour and I'll be there Zeke."

"Good. Check in with reception and they'll let you know where to go. See you in an hour Harry." He hung up the phone.

Harry placed his phone down on the kitchen table, wondering just how much crazier his winter holidays could get. He helped himself to breakfast, planning just on what he'd say today and just what he'd be able to do to help Alicia.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated to an alley nearby Marauder Tower and with a quick glance made sure no one saw him appear out of nowhere. He his way through the front doors of the building and headed towards the reception area. He arrived at the desk and approached the same brunette he had spoken with last time he had been here under the guise of Alexander Black.

"Welcome to Marauder Industries, how can I help you?" she asked. Harry was impressed. From a look in her eyes he could tell that she knew she hadn't seen him before and had seen him enter the building, thereby correctly guessing he was new here. She really did have a good memory it seemed.

"I have an appointment with Ezekiel Griffis," Harry told. "It should have been arranged within the last hour."

She typed a few commands into the keyboard in front of her. "Your name, sir?" she asked.

"Harry Evans."

With a quick movement she typed in his name in the database, getting a photo of him, proof of his name, and nothing else. She smiled up at him, "Mr Griffis has booked a conference room on the 6th floor for the meeting." She nodded over the elevators a few feet behind her, to the left. "Take that six floors up and he should be in room 604."

"Thank you Miss O'Neil," Harry said with a smile before walking away. The receptionist looked at him oddly as he walked away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry quickly found room 604. Through the small pane of glass on the door he could see the group of people that were already. Zeke caught his eye and stood up, "Excuse me for a moment please," he told the waiting people sitting around the large circular desk as he walked towards the door.

Zeke walked out into the hallway and they shook hands, "I'll lead with this, but I'll ask you to cover things every so often. Feel free to chip in whenever you want alright."

Harry nodded. "What have you told them so far?" he asked.

"They know they're here to hear a proposal for a new project but nothing else."

"Alright, let's get this started then," Harry said, opening the door and walking into the room. The group of ten scientists looked up as they entered and Harry sat down next to the seat he knew was Zeke's.

Harry glanced around the table and his mind made an odd connection, "Knights of the Round Table, Zeke?" he asked.

The slightly older man smiled slightly, "Seemed oddly fitting." He sat and turned towards the rest of the room, "Introductions. For those who don't know, my name is Ezekiel Griffis and I am the CEO of Marauder Industries."

Names and specialties were given and although Harry knew they were some of the best MI had, the names still didn't mean anything to him. They eventually reached Harry and looked at him inquisitively. Harry already knew that they all confused as to why a nineteen year old was also in the room for this. He could also tell by the slightly smile on Zeke's face that he was looking forward to this. "My name is Harry Evans and I am the majority shareholder for Marauder Industries and this project is being started at my request."

Looks of stunned silence followed his announcement. Harry shared an amused glance with Zeke, "If you accept this offer we'll be seeing more of each other, so please ask me anything you want, within reason."

"You?" the man asked from opposite him asked, "You are 'Mr. Marauder'?"

Harry nodded, "I'm curious to know who started that name, but yes, I started this company."

"How old are you?" a woman two seats to his left asked.

"Nineteen," Harry said.

"You're still a child," the man two seats to the left of Zeke said in disbelief.

"I haven't been a child for years and would appreciate not being called such," Harry said. He opened his mouth to say something else and no doubt remembered just who he was talking to and shut his mouth afterwards, looking slightly cowed.

Harry smiled slightly at him, showing that no harm had been done, "There will be more time to discuss me at a later date, but I'll let Zeke tell you why you're here."

Zeke stood, pushing in his chair and leaning on the back of it, "Now tell me," he said slowly with a smile on his face. "Who here believes in magic?"

Only Harry's hand went up. This would be fun.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The meeting had been going on for six hours now which didn't include the hour lunch break where they had ordered take-away food from down the street. So far, quite a lot had happened and Harry, despite having been locked in a room for seven hours, was still interested.

Zeke's opening question had been met with looks of complete disbelief. In honour of Minerva McGonagall, Harry had, with an obvious wave of his hand and without warning, transfigured Zeke into a cat and levitated him onto the table. Using her animagus ability of a cat to show a new class that transfiguration really was possible was one of her opening tricks. As Harry didn't have full control over his animagus ability and had no desire to show off his wings, he had used what materials he had available to him.

Zeke had not been impressed.

The scientists had.

Harry was just amused.

After transfiguring Zeke back and receiving quite a nasty glare from the man which Harry just shrugged at, Zeke continued their lesson, showing off several simple spells, showing them several magical items that shouldn't exist by what science proved. After 20 minutes he asked again who believed in magic. All hands went up this time.

Zeke had then begun to discuss the project that they here to participate in should they wish. It had taken less than a minute for all of them to agree. Knowing that they would be 'obliviated' of knowledge of the magic world should they not agree was too much for the incredibly curious scientists.

An added bonus was that if they were successful in finding out just what magic was and how it was available to people, their names would go down in history.

They were assigned to special laboratory four miles from Marauder Tower, hidden underground. It had extensive magical protections around it. This project was to be secret until such a time that it showed results.

The remaining several hours was used for Harry and Zeke to give an extensive background on the magical world. Creatures was a topic of particular interest as well as the reason people became squibs. Harry had a good feeling about what this group would be able to do and he would check in on them on a weekly basis.

The topic of the meteor-rock powered was also brought up. Two of the scientists had worked for the Smallville LuthorCorp facility two years before and, having seen the extraordinary results they got from the rocks, firmly believed that human mutations were possible. With the use of magical protections, they were adamant that they could produce something.

All in all the meeting had gone as well as expected and the group left after signing a magical contract not to reveal the secrets of the company to anyone that hadn't signed the list, or Harry and Zeke. As the oath would stop them before anything that shouldn't be said was said, they were in no danger and all signed it after only a short hesitation.

Zeke and Harry watched them all leave the room and sat back down onto their chairs, "That went well, didn't it?" Harry asked Zeke.

The man nodded, "I can't see how things could have gone better actually. It was a good day." Harry nodded. Despite having done nothing physical today he was wiped out. "Despite some of the issues we have remaining, things should begin tomorrow."

Harry nodded. A few problems they had were in regards to getting volunteers in order to research. It was an idea he wasn't all that comfortable with but knew it needed done. The main problem would be in regards to the meteor-infected.

From what Harry knew, the mental institution Belle Reve was full of those that had been infected enough to gain abilities and he also knew that they could very easily and quietly remove them in order to study what the green rocks had changed about them.

Despite being able to kill a man without a seconds hesitation Harry was very much against the idea of kidnapping people. Having experienced kidnapping first hand it was something that made him very uneasy. He would think on it more but the scientists knew that if they did get 'prisoners', that they wouldn't be mistreated. Whilst no threat was given it was obvious to all paying attention.

"You'll keep an eye out on it?" Harry asked.

Zeke nodded, "I'll make sure they're following code."

Harry nodded, and checked his watch, wincing slightly. "I really better be going Zeke."

"I'm guessing your friends are a bit worried about you?" he asked.

Harry nodded. After leaving the hospital last night he hadn't spoken with any of his friends and he'd received several phone calls during the meeting before having to turn his phone off. It had now been almost a day since he'd last spoken with anyone from Smallville. "I may have left them a bit worried yesterday and being out of contact for a day probably wasn't the best idea."

"What happened?"

Harry shook his head, "Bad memories Zeke. Ask me again when we meet next week and I'll let you know."

"Another one of adventures?" Zeke asked with a small smile having heard a few of Harry's past deeds.

"One of the reasons I left," Harry said, standing up. "It was good seeing you again Zeke." Zeke stood and they made their way to the door. "You'll let me know if any complications arise with Prometheus?"

"I'll keep you posted on it."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Not knowing where his friends were he Apparated straight from Metropolis to the Smallville Medical Centre. Hopefully his friends wouldn't make much of a deal about him vanishing for almost 24 hours. He knew Hermione would have killed him slowly, over a number of weeks for pulling such a stunt on her. Odds were that Lois would be most vocal.

He made his way through the Medical Centre, not remembering that Lana would have been discharged from here hours ago. His own record with hospitals usually involved a 3 day visit so his confusion was at least logical.

He neared Lana's room when he saw a regal looking blonde woman in an expensive suit walking in his direction. He saw the slight raise of her eyebrows that he easily knew was a sign of recognition. Her mind was closed to his surface legilimancy scan but from a memory of Lana's that he had seen perhaps a month ago, he knew who she was; Genevieve Teague, Jason's mother. He didn't know much of her but he knew that she had a significant amount of political pull. From what MI had been able to find out, she had been the one to get Lionel Luthor out of prison when the Senior Luthor had been unable to. She was one of the few people that MI knew without a doubt that was aware of whom Harry really was.

"Mr. Evans," Genevieve said pleasantly, her accent obviously British. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

She held out her hand. Harry grasped it, placing a delicate kiss on the back of it. He recognised this situation for what it was, a meeting between two powerful people. Having met with enough pureblood aristocrats, he had a good basis for how to act.

"Mrs. Teague, the honours mine," Harry said with a polite smile. "What brings you to Smallville?"

"I was visiting my son Jason. He was attacked earlier this evening," Genevieve said.

That got a raised eyebrow from Harry. Apparently Lana's attacker had moved on to someone else. The fact that Lana and Jason were involved with each other was probably not a coincidence. "I'm sorry to hear about your son. I hope he's alright?" Harry asked, still keeping up the charade.

"The doctor's here have declared him well but I would feel better having him examined by a real doctor, you understand?"

"Of course," Harry told her, lying. Whilst he didn't like doctors as a rule, the ones that had treated him here were fine. They were no Madam Pomphrey, but that Napoleonic power monger was one of a kind in his book.

"Well, I must be off. I'm sure I'll see you again," Genevieve told him.

"I look forward to it," Harry told her with a nod.

"As do I." With that she walked past Harry, exiting the hospital. Harry allowed himself to relax the moment she was out of his sight. He felt dirty for having to act like that but knew that acting otherwise would just cause trouble. Just as he got small 'danger' vibes from Jason, his sense were practically screaming in warning with her. He shuddered slightly. It was not a good feeling to have.

As he stood in the corridor sorting his thoughts Lana and Jason walked round the corner, "Harry, hi," Lana said in surprise upon seeing him.

"Hey Lana, Jason," Harry said. He turned to the brunette, "How are you feeling?"

"I'm better. We were worried about you though," Lana said.

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Sorry. I wasn't trying to worry anyone. I just had things to do."

"Hence you wearing a suit," Lana pointed out, looking Harry up and down.

He looked down at himself, having forgotten he was still in his expensive shirt, jacket and trousers. He quickly made up an excuse, "I had to talk to some lawyers in Metropolis today. There was one or two complications transferring some of my holdings when I moved here." He looked to Jason, not wanting to keep lying. Lana was good at seeing through them, "Your mum said you were attacked?" Harry asked.

Jason was about to answer Harry's question when another thought came to mind, "You spoke with my mom?"

Harry nodded, "We chatted here for a moment before she had to leave." Jason looked at Harry oddly, perhaps wondering why his mother would speak with him. "She probably sensed that I was English," Harry said to Jason, trying to get his mind off reasons why his mother would talk with him. "So what happened to you?"

"I was attacked in the parking lot," Jason said. "Someone tried to strangle me from inside my _locked_ car." He clearly still believed Alicia attacked him. Lana looked uncomfortable. Harry could tell she wasn't sure if it was Alicia or not anymore. She trusted Harry and was sure he wouldn't lie to her. She trusted his opinion of people. Given the situation Harry was enormously pleased that she trusted him to that extent when he had only been here for a short while. That was until the guilt hit him over lying about pretty much his entire life. She barely even knew who he was. No one here did.

He shook away those thoughts; they couldn't lead to anything good. "So you're still set on Alicia being the attacker?" Harry asked.

"Who else could it be?" Jason said, his voice quiet. His neck was red and Harry knew that talking probably wasn't the easiest thing in the world.

"That's what I'm going to find out," Harry promised. The fact that he didn't have any sort of plan was a bit of a hindrance, but plans were overrated anyways.

"You really think you can do something when the police can't?" Jason asked, his voice croaking slightly. Harry just stared him in the eyes unblinkingly.

"Come on Jason," Lana said with a reassuring smile from beside her boyfriend. "We'll go get you something for your throat."

"Sure," Jason said, smiling back.

"It's good to see your doing alright Harry," Lana said.

Harry managed a smile, "It should be me saying that you, both of you, but thanks anyway."

Lana and Jason walked down the corridor and left the Medical Centre. Checking the security cameras weren't focused on him he Disapparated away from the hospital to the Kent farm, wanting to know if Alicia had told Clark anything useful. He walked towards the front door of the house, knocking quietly as he could already seen Mr. Kent reading a newspaper at the kitchen table. He looked up at the knocking, "Come on in Harry."

Harry opened the thin door and walked inside, "Thanks Mr. Kent. Clark and Lois around?"

He nodded, taking off his reading glasses, "Clark's up the barn." He glanced upstairs, "I think Lois is up in Clark's room."

"You mind if I go up?" Harry asked.

"Sure Harry," Mr. Kent said.

"Thanks," Harry said, continuing into the house and heading up the stairs to Clark's room. With the Kent house only having two bedrooms, one for Mr. and Mrs. Kent and one for Clark, there was no spare room for Lois to sleep in. The Kent's being as nice as they were freely offered Lois Clark's room, letting Clark sleep on a couch downstairs. Harry had been tempted to let, at first Lois and then Clark sleep in his house, but considering his nocturnal habits and long phone calls he took with MI, he wasn't sure if that having someone else over was the best thing to do. Thankfully for Clark, Lois was only staying for two weeks.

He knocked on the door and waited for an answer. He knocked again, putting his ear to the door after not getting an invite. Inside he could hear Lois singing quietly to herself, most likely with headphones on. Harry smiled to himself, concentrating on the room in front of him. He felt the almost minuscule amount of electricity in the walkman she had and with a thought, turned it off.

"What the…" he heard Lois mutter to herself as her music stopped. He knocked again, doing his best to remove the smile from his face. "Yeah?" Lois called.

Taking her 'yeah?' as an invitation to enter he opened the door and walked into the room. When Lois saw him, stood up and punched him, hard, in the left shoulder. He could have avoided the punch, but that would have only made her madder at him. "Where the hell have you been?" she asked.

He winced at the contact. Any one who said girls couldn't hit had never met Lois Lane before. The fact that her jab hit the old bullet wound on his shoulder didn't help. He rubbed his shoulder. "Er, ow?" Harry said to Lois.

"Like you didn't deserve that," Lois told him.

"Sorry about disappearing Lois," Harry told her sincerely. "Something came up this morning and I've been busy all day. I only got back about 15 minutes ago."

"You were in total black out mode. You were too busy to answer your phone?" Lois asked, still standing defiantly in front of him.

"I probably could have called at one point," Harry said. "I didn't think anyone would be that bothered though."

Lois rolled her eyes, relaxing her shoulders somewhat, "You really are an idiot aren't you?"

"Some of the best and brightest of our generation have told me so," Harry said with a nod and a smile. He looked at her with mock wariness, "You're not going to hit me again are you?"

"I'm thinking about it," Lois said as way of warning but he could tell she wasn't annoyed at him anymore. She looked at his clothes oddly, "You're wearing a _suit_?"

"This is when I'm meant to congratulate you on how observant you are, aren't I?" Harry asked mockingly and with a smile.

"Since when do you wear suits?" Lois asked curiously.

"Since today actually," He held his arms out giving Lois a chance to see properly what he was wearing, "You like?"

"Well, its better than all black you usually wear," Lois said. Harry could tell she did like the suit. It was clearly expensive and looked good on him. Despite being black like most of his other clothes, the shirt was a light blue. "Where were you that you needed to wear a suit?"

Harry took a seat in the corner of Clark's room, picking a baseball of the chair and throwing it to Lois, "Had a meeting in Metropolis to go over some bank details. There were a few complications with transferring everything I have to America and they were just being sorted."

Lois threw the ball back at him, "Everything's sorted now then?"

Harry caught the ball and rolled it around in his hand, "Should be."

"Just what was being transferred that they had only noticed after a few months?" Lois asked sceptically.

Harry tossed her back the ball, "_That_ is private Miss Lane."

"Oh yeah?" Lois asked, eyebrow raised. Harry knew she'd obviously taken what he said as a challenge. "And if I got Chloe to investigate it?"

"You'd have a very frustrated cousin who couldn't find what she wanted."

"You're that confident she couldn't find anything?" Lois asked, still doubting him.

Harry shrugged, "She'd find out eventually, although that would only be because I told her." Lois was about to respond but Harry cut her off, "But I won't be doing that for a while."

"So," Harry said, eager to change the subject now. "What happened since yesterday then?"

"You heard that Jason got attacked?" Lois asked.

Harry nodded, "I stopped over at the hospital before coming round here. Caught Jason and Lana leaving. They let me know what happened."

Lois raised an eyebrow, "Why were you there if you didn't know Jason had been hurt?" she asked. "You didn't injure yourself _again_ did you?"

Harry huffed in mock outrage, "I'm appalled you'd even think that Lois!" She looked at him in disbelief, "Ok, so the odds of me being injured are only slightly higher than me not, but no, I wasn't hurt."

"Then why did you go there?" persisted Lois.

Harry looked at her sheepishly, "It's not my fault that due to my long hospital stays I thought Lana would be in there for a couple more days."

Lois laughed, "Yeah?"

"When I get injured doctors threaten to injure me again if I try leave before at least three days."

"Lana suffered axphiliasion, you on the other hand broke three ribs and required surgery on your first visit," Lois pointed out as though it should have been obvious. "You're second hospitalization had you unconscious for a week."

Harry muttered something under his breath. "What was that?" Lois asked.

"Nothing," Harry said quickly, not brave enough to say '_You were the one that broke my ribs' _loud enough for her to hear. "So you still suspect Alicia then?" Harry asked, his tone darkening somewhat.

Lois looked slightly embarrassed, "We know it wasn't Alicia."

"Really?" Harry asked, pleased. He leaned forward slightly in his chair.

"Yeah. Sheriff Adams had her down at the station all last night."

"When Jason was attacked," Harry finished. "Good to know. Do they have any suspects?"

She shook her head, "They've got nothing yet although whoever it was strangled Jason with a scarf of Alicia's."

"So someone's setting her up then?" Harry asked.

"That's what the Sheriff thinks. That's the only clue they've got though."

"Well that's fantastic isn't it?" Harry said with a sigh. He'd have to do this himself, he just knew it.

Lois nodded. "You doing better after last night then?"

"What?" Harry asked, being pulled from his thoughts.

"You seemed a bit wound up last night," Lois told him. "You seem better."

Harry nodded, "Memories of things I don't talk about. The past is the past though, so no point dwelling on it." He spoke quietly, pushing away the memories.

"You know repressing things isn't good for you?" Lois asked.

Harry rubbed the side of his neck where a thin white scar ran down into his shirt, "Yeah," Harry tiredly said. "I know." That wouldn't stop him trying to repress certain events though.

Feeling the conversation was getting a bit tense and heading down a direction he didn't want he stood up. "I'm going to see if Clark or Alicia know anything," Harry told Lois whilst walking to the door.

"Sure Harry, let me know if you do."

Harry nodded, walking from the room, missing Lois's concerned expression.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry made his way up the stairs in Clark's barn. Clark was looking out the his telescope and staring up at the sky. It was the first time Harry had seen him use it. "You like astronomy?" Harry asked quietly as he made his way over to him. He was still trying to clear his head from his conversation with Lois.

Clark turned around, not having heard him come up the stairs. Whilst Harry had been quiet as he usually was, with Clark's enhanced hearing he was surprised that he hadn't been heard. Perhaps Clark was able to turn the ability on and off like he could now do with his falcon eyes.

"Harry, you're back," Clark said as he saw him.

"I wasn't really 'away', just had some thing to take care of." He nodded towards the telescope, "Astronomy?"

"Yeah. Looking up at stars relaxes me you know?" Clark said. "What about you?"

Harry walked over to the telescope, looking through the lens to where Clark was looking. "My school had a 5 year long astronomy class. I could probably name most of what we can see here. There are two things I do like though." He adjusted the angle the telescope was facing. Still feeling somewhat pensive from his conversation with Lois he kept talking.

"Canis Major and Orion the Hunter," He found the star and constellation he was looking for. "My godfather came from a family that by tradition named family members after the night sky. Sirius Orion Black. I like being able to look up and see them."

"I can understand that," Clark said. Harry could tell he meant it.

Harry looked away from the telescope, "I heard that Alicia's in the clear?"

Clark nodded, obviously pleased, "Yeah. Sheriff Adams pulled her into the station last night and she was being interrogated during the attack. They let her go after that."

"Is she around?" Harry asked.

Clark shook his head, "She's at her parent's house just now. With everything that's happened, she hasn't had a chance to see them yet. How come?"

"Someone's setting her up and I want to see if I can find anything in her mind that might help us slightly."

"You think you could do that?" Clark asked, sounding hopeful.

Harry shrugged, "She has to have come in contact with whoever is doing this whilst in Smallville. Hopefully I'll be able to find a connection and we can stop whoever is doing this."

"You want to find her now?" Clark asked.

"Best get this over with," Harry said. "In case there are any more attacks."

"Will you be able to teleport to Alicia's?"

Harry frowned in thought. He usually would be able to pull a destination from someone's mind, but with Clark that was apparently impossible. His frown vanished as he remembered the tracking charm he still had on Clark. That would allow him to Apparate to him. "I'll meet you there," he said.

Clark nodded, vanishing in a rush of air. Harry closed his eyes, concentrating on the charm. After a few seconds the tracker stopped moving. Making sure the charm hadn't moved again Harry Apparated to the source, appearing just behind Clark. He looked around the farm area he'd arrived in. Instantly Harry sensed something was wrong. He placed a hand on Clark's shoulder, looking around him.

Near the stables a dog began barking.

Harry nodded in the direction and Clark silently followed him.

As one they both stopped, seeing 20ft in front of them, what the dog was barking at.

Alicia.

A noose tightly wrought around her neck.

"_Diffindo!_" Harry called, slashing his hand towards her. The cutting spell connected with the rope around her neck, dropping her. Harry Apparated forward as Clark went into super-speed, both of them catching her before she hit the ground. They lowered her to the ground. Her skin was pale but still warm. Harry put his hand against her neck. "There's no pulse," Harry quickly said. Whilst there was no pulse, her skin was still warm so she couldn't have been like this for long. His mind worked quickly on what was in his capabilities were for such a situation. He looked at Clark, "Stand back."

He placed a hand on her throat, quietly hissing a healing spell to repair the damage the rope had done to her throat. His right hand rested over her chest, "_Enervate!_" Harry cast, pushing power into her chest, trying to restart her heart. He felt her throat heal slightly and he took his hand off her neck, placing it over his other hand.

"_Enervate!_" Harry cast again. He felt her heart jolt but not restart. He concentrated again, barely noticing the crackling of electricity on his hands. "_Enervate!_"

Magic and electricity combined, pulsing into her chest and into her heart.

Alicia awoke suddenly, gasping as she did, looking around wildly in panic. Seeing Clark leaning over her in concern, she burst into tears and grasped tightly onto him. Harry sat back on his heels watching Clark mutter reassuring words into her ear. He was monumentally glad what he had just done worked. What happened with his lightning ability confused him though. Using that as a sort of defibrillator had been the first thought that came to mind, but not knowing how much power was needed to do that 'safely' he had resorted to an overpowered waking spell. _'Thank Merlin it worked,' _Harry thought to himself.

"Alicia?" Harry said softly. She turned to face him. "Do you know who did this?"

"I-I don't know his name," she said softly. Harry caught an image of the man who attacked her in her mind and he pushed in further to see what happened.

_Alicia walked towards her parents stables. She'd love to ride the horses when she was a young girl, then, her abilities surfaced and everything changed. She changed then and so did her perception of the world. She heard a noise coming from inside one of the empty stables and walked towards it. Inside she saw a man her age going through a chest of her clothes. He looked around as she neared, "__I'm glad you're finally home."_

"_What are you doing?" Alicia asked, looking around nervously. She had no idea who this person was or why they were here._

"_Oh, I was just waiting for you," the young man said, as though it were the most normal thing in the world._

_Alicia's ideas widened as she realised what was happening, "It was you. You're the one doing this!"_

"_This really used to be such a nice little town," he said, stopping his search and looking towards her. "I'd hoped that your boyfriend would think you were guilty, but no, you got arrested and now everyone knows it's not you. You aren't any use to me anymore."_

"_I'm taking you to…" she grabbed the intruders arm, intending to teleport him to Clark but he was too fast and too strong for her. He pulled out of her grasp and before she could teleport away a rag was pulled over her mouth. Being a 'science geek' back in High School, even through her panic she recognised the chemical scent of Chloroform. She screamed, struggling. In her panic she forget about her ability to teleport._

Harry pulled out of Alicia's mind and shuddered. He'd felt her emotions and that was something he hadn't been able to do yet. Whilst he could tell when people were happy or sad, he never felt it like this before. He knew that his legilimens skill was just above novice and he knew that sensing emotions in others was the next step up from where he was. He didn't know if it had just been her mind that allowed him to sense the emotions or if he was getting better at the skill. Either way, it wasn't something he wanted.

He could feel how weak Alicia felt when the rag had been pulled over her mouth and it left him angry. He needed to vent and knew just the person to face his wrath. "Look after her," Harry told Clark before standing up and Apparating away, not caring that Alicia saw him.

His name was Tim Westcott. Harry wasn't sure if he'd ever actually spoken with him. He was quiet and kept to himself. A typical loner type. Harry was going to find him and end him. There was the slight problem with not knowing where to find him though. Harry Disapparated from Granville, reappearing back in Smallville seconds later. He Apparated right to Chloe's front door and knocked. Pretty much everyone in Smallville knew that if you needed information you went to Chloe Sullivan.

It didn't take long for Chloe to open up. "Hi Harry," Chloe said with a smile as she saw him. Seeing his face her smile dimmed somewhat, "What's wrong?"

"I need some information Chloe," Harry said.

"Um, sure. What do you need?" she asked.

"I need to know where I can find Tim Westcott, as soon as you can."

"Well, it's not like I've got him lo-jacked or anything," Chloe said, trying to brighten the atmosphere somewhat. Harry's expression didn't change. "Ok," Chloe said a tad uncomfortably. "Not the appropriate time for jokes. I can see what I can find though, come in."

Harry smiled slightly as Chloe walked back into the house, letting him in. "Thanks Chloe." He knew he shouldn't be talking out his anger on Chloe. "Sorry about the cold welcome I gave you there."

Chloe shrugged it off, "Don't worry about. So, what's Tim done to warrant your ire?"

"Clark and I just found Alicia with a noose tied around her neck and he was the one that tightened it for her," Harry said, itchy for a fight.

Chloe looked at him, wide eyed, "Oh my God! Is she all right?"

"She's shaken up but she'll be fine."

"So Tim's the one that's been doing this?" she asked.

Harry nodded, "We don't know how he's doing it, but it's definitely him."

Chloe sat down on her bed that had her open green laptop sitting on the covers. She opened up several pages and started typing. "I've got his address here," Chloe said after a minute. "I've heard he spends a lot of time at the Historical Society Exhibition as well."

Harry memorised the address and knew he could Apparate there. He knew the location. "Thanks Chloe," Harry said. "I've got to go." He turned to leave, reaching Chloe's door before she was able to stand.

"Wait, don't you think it'd be a good idea to call the police instead of going to look for him?"

Harry paused at the door, trying to work out a way to get out of Chloe's house as well as keeping her here. It didn't matter if she called the police, he'd be done by then. "Call them," Harry said. "I'll meet you at the Medical Centre." With that Harry left the room quickly, Disapparating the moment he crossed the threshold to the street.

He Apparated to the street he knew Tim lived and quickly tracked down his house. The lights were off. With an unlocking and opening charm he walked into the house, quickly and silently searching. The house was small and it only too a minute for Harry to realise there was on one here.

He Apparated to the Historical Society Exhibition next, landing just outside the front doors. Knowing a place like this had security he concentrated on the building and killed all power to it. With it being late and the place being shut, there was no indication that he'd done anything. He unlocked the door with a hand gesture and silenced his feet before walking in, keeping hidden. Situations like this were the reason he was so fond of black.

He heard footsteps ahead. Rounding a corner he saw Tim looking into a glass display case. He turned sharply having seen Harry in the glass's reflection. "Harry? What are you doing here?" His tone of voice clearly said that he wasn't bothered that someone else had broken into the building.

"Alicia survived," Harry told him, edging nearer. "Can't say the same thing about you though."

He laughed, turning to face Harry fully. "This town use to be something. A nice, peaceful town. Look at it now."

Harry flexed his fingers, "So tell me, what did Lana and Jason do to get them attacked? I can understand Alicia, but not Lana."

"A High School student dating the football coach. These things aren't meant to happen. There are rules to stop these things for a reason!"

"You attacked them because they were dating?" Harry asked incredulously. "You tried to _murder_ two people because of that? If your rules were so important to you how do you excuse _your_ actions?"

"They were punished for what they did. I was given power to stop these things."

It was clear to Harry that Tim was insane. It unnerved Harry that he didn't know what Tim's power was. When fighting magic users he could predict spells and actions. An unknown power was dangerous. This man, this boy, had tried to kill Lana. He still painfully remembered Alicia's fear when he attacked her. It was Tim's fault that some of the worst times he'd spent in the magical world were running through his head. He fired the first curse that came to mind. Thrusting his right arm forward he cast a silent incantation, _'Sectumsempra!'_

The spell shot from his hand towards Tim's neck. Harry could only blink in surprise when Tim's body turned completely to sand. The spell cut straight through the sand grains where his neck once was before destroying a small replicate of Smallville behind him. Tim's head fell apart, turning to dust and falling to the floor. Harry waited for the rest of the body to do the same.

Sand whirled around Tim's body, circling up towards his neck. Harry quickly realised what was happening. The sand grains were rebuilding the body that had just been destroyed. Quickly Tim's head began to form shape. Thinking quickly Harry held his right arm up again, "Aguamenti!"

Water propelled with the force of a fire hose crashed into Tim's chest, cutting a whole straight through him. The sand that formed his body darkened due to the absorbed water. Harry shot the water spell at Tim again, cutting his right leg off from beneath him. The sand body hit the ground hard, trying to use one arm to stop the fall. With the sand now very wet the moment the arm touched the ground it cracked, keeping form but falling from the body. Tim, still in sand form screamed.

For a follow up, and an action Harry was quickly getting use to he twisted his left wrist, firing a stream of lightning onto the water soaked body. Tim's scream lasted seconds as his body was completely destroyed. With the water damage as well as the damage from the electricity, he was in too bad a shape to rematerialize.

Harry stood, waiting to see if there was any sign of life from the sand pile. After a few minutes and no movement Harry was sure the sand-man was done. On a whim he tried a 'Scourgify' and 'Evanesco' spell on the remains. The sand vanished and the floor where the spells had been cast looked far cleaner than everywhere else in the room. He looked around. The room was a bit of a mess. Within a few minutes Harry had repaired as much as he could of the damage.

The small town replica from 1988 was in to much disarray to repair so Harry just left it and its glass case in pieces on the floor. Making sure there was no evidence he'd been here he Apparated outside the building, allowing the security systems to reactive.

He pulled out his phone. Trying a trick he had been working on, without using any buttons on the phone, he dialled Clark. It was lazy but it never failed to amuse him. Clark picked up quickly, "Harry? Where are you?" he asked.

"I was going to ask the same thing," Harry said in response. Where he was wasn't important.

"Alicia and I are at Smallville Medical just now."

"Is she alright?" Harry asked.

"She's still shaken up, but she'll be fine," Clark said, clearly relived. "Chloe turned up a minute ago saying you went looking for Tim Westcott?" Clark asked. "He was the one that did this?"

"Yeah, but it's dealt with now,"

There was silence on the other end of the phone for a second, "Harry, did you kill him?"

Harry considered his answer. Saying 'Yes' would in no way be good for his relationship with Clark, "He had an ability. He turned into sand. In the fight he burst a water pipe and as soon as the water touched him he just… dissolved." Harry paused again, "He might eventually be able to pull himself together, but I doubt it. He killed himself."

Harry truly believed the last thing he said to Clark. In attacking Lana and in hanging Alicia, Tim had signed his own death certificate. He'd lost friends before because he fought by the rules and gave second chances. He wouldn't make that mistake here.

"You're sure?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded before remembering that he was on his phone, "Yeah. He did it himself Clark."

Clark let out a relieved sigh, "Alright. Are you coming here? Alicia wanted to thank you."

"Once I'm off the phone. How much does she know about what I can do?"

"She saw you teleport away after she woke up and she pretty much guessed that you can read minds."

Harry sighed in annoyance, "Make sure to tell her I _can't_ read minds. I only see memories."

Harry could tell Clark smiled. "I already told her. You've told me enough times."

Harry smiled slightly as well, "Alright, I'll be there soon."

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Monday, December 20th, 2004)_

It had been two days since the Sand-man incident and it was getting closer and closer to Christmas. Almost everyone was into the holiday mood and seemed to have more energy than was polite. Lois and Chloe were especially cheerful. The two cousins were quite a force when together and that just seemed to increase over time. Lois certainly acted like Chloe's big sister and did what she could to bring Chloe out of her shell.

Two people were having a slightly more difficult time however. Alicia had been quiet since her near death experience and Harry knew she was contemplating leaving Clark and Smallville. She was smart, once one of Smallville High's best students, and she could see how her being with Clark was affecting his relationship with everyone else. Clark's parents were still incredibly distrusting of Alicia, even though the blonde teleporter had taken a bullet for their son.

Harry on the other hand was just confused. His competency with legilimancy was increasing, and whilst he couldn't turn off the skill completely, he was now beginning to sense emotions from people. Having the emotions of other people in his head reminded him strongly of his 5th year, when any time Voldemort got especially angry, he lost is temper because he could feel Voldemort's emotions through the link they shared. This in turn brought up more bad memories, which brought up more. Now, every time he closed his eyes he relived moments he wished he could forget.

He knew that he'd overreacted when he had dealt with Tim in the Historical Society Exhibition. Whilst he didn't regret his actions in the slightest, he knew the emotions he'd picked up from Alicia had caused him to act more violently than he probably would have.

Lois had been shooting him odd looks since he'd last spoken with her and he wasn't sure what to do with that. He tried shifting his focus to his animagi training instead, but after being able to produce wings a few days prior, he'd hit a block he couldn't shift. He'd tried flying again but that was far more difficult than he'd anticipated. The wings were only for show just now. He'd learned that after nearly breaking an arm twice in quick succession

He was feeling restless and he didn't know why. Perhaps because his friends were all busy with someone else. He didn't know.

He reflected on this as he made his way on foot to the Kent farm. With the amount of snow there was it made his usual runs difficult so he made the most out of the situation. A warming charm and a decent pair of boots made it pleasant enough. He entered Clark's barn and was about to call out to his friend when he heard Clark and Alicia talking on the floor above him. Not wanting to interrupt their conversation he slowly made his way towards them. He stopped, falling back into the shadows when he realised what conversation they were having.

"It's for the best Clark," Alicia said to her boyfriend. Harry could see the tears in her eyes and knew that he shouldn't be here.

"I don't believe that," Clark told her definitely.

"I can't stay here Clark. I want to, I want to stay with you, but I can't."

"If you want to stay then stay," Clark told her, not backing down.

"You know it can't work Clark. I can tell your parents are scared of me or that I'll reveal your secret. Your friends look at me like I'm going to attack them," Alicia told Clark, her voice rising steadily.

"That isn't true," Clark told her. He paused, trying to come up with something. "Harry doesn't look at you like that."

Alicia smiled sadly, "He doesn't, but he's special like we are. He understands. No one else does." She took a deep breath, "You're barely speaking with your parents and I won't be the cause of that."

Tears were now running down Clark's face, "Things will get better." He sounded as though he was trying to convince himself more than Alicia.

"Not if I'm here they won't," Alicia said, tears in her eyes.

"Part of me never feels freer than when I'm with you. You make me feel normal and special at the same time," Clark told her. He reached up and wiped the tears from her face.

"I feel the same, but this is for the best. You'll realise that eventually. I need to find out who I am again." She pushed herself onto her tiptoes and kissed Clark lightly on the lips, "Goodbye Clark Kent."

Realising what she was about to do Harry cast the same tracking charm he had on Clark to her. Moments later he saw the swirl of green energy that signified her teleportation. Clark stared at the spot she had been standing in for a moment before talking a few steps back and fell into the couch behind him. He hung his head.

Harry considered going over and talking with him before deciding to leave it for now. He always preferred quiet when something bad happened to him. He'd come back and seen Clark later after he had a chance to process what happened.

Instead, he focused on the tracking charm he'd placed on Alicia. Disapparating quietly as to not alert Clark of his presence he reappeared just on the outskirts of Smallville. Alicia sat in her car, her head in her hands. The crunching of the snow on the ground alerted her to the fact that someone was there.

"Harry?" Alicia asked in surprise. She wiped away her tears and got out of the car. "How did you find me here?"

"Magic," Harry said with a smile. "I heard your conversation with Clark. Sorry about that." He leant against her car. "What are you planning to do now?"

"I-I don't know," Alicia said. "Maybe go to California; somewhere warm."

Harry nodded and an idea sprung to mind. He knew as well as anyone that starting a new life in a new part of the world was difficult. For one thing, it was expensive. "If you want to hear, I have a suggestion to make things easier," Harry told her.

"Really?" Alicia asked, unsure.

"First of all, this will sound bad but hear me out. I have a friend in a high position in Marauder Industries." He paused for a second, "You've heard of it?"

She nodded, "They let me read newspapers when I was in Belle Reve. It was hard not to read about it."

"There's a study there just starting there regarding how the meteor shower gave people abilities. For that, they'll need to examine people that _have_ abilities." Alicia opened her mouth, clearly wanting to protest. Harry stopped her before she could, "They'd treat you properly, you'd be free to leave at any time and you'd be paid well for your time."

"How can you be sure?" Alicia asked sceptically. "How do you know they won't treat me like a lab rat the moment I turn up?"

"I'm part of the study," Harry told her. "I'll be checking in every couple of days and I promise nothing bad will happen."

"You're sure?" Alicia asked.

Harry nodded, pulling a business card from his wallet with the '_Alexander Black' _name on it. "Hand this to reception, ask to speak to Mr. Griffis and you'll be taken care of."

Alicia took the card and looked at it carefully, "I'll consider it." Harry nodded, sensing that she would. She looked at Harry curiously, "You have a lot more secrets than Clark knows, don't you?" Harry said nothing. "It helps to talk about these things. Trust me, I know that."

Harry just nodded, saying nothing else. "See you around Alicia," he said before Disapparating again back home. He sat down on his coach and thought about what Alicia had said to him. Did he need to talk to someone? Was that what felt wrong just now? It wasn't something he'd tried before. He'd always been the soldier hiding or repressing what he felt. He laughed at the concept of going to a psychiatrist and talking about his problems. They'd have him committed to Belle Reve five minutes into their first conversation.

The problem was that he didn't have anyone he _could_ talk to about this. For perhaps a week or so he'd considered returning to his friends in Britain for Christmas and spending time with them, but the memories that were returning with such strength would most likely kill him if he returned back to where everything happened. Maybe he could manage someday, but that wouldn't be soon.

He could talk to Clark about what happened to him as he already knew Harry had powers but he was sure Clark wouldn't understand. Clark had grown up with the perfect childhood and aside from the odd meteor infected human attacking him and his friends, the perfect life. Clark wouldn't, Clark couldn't, understand what Harry had gone through.

He considered talking to Zeke about what was troubling him but past on the idea. Whilst he was comfortable around Zeke and had the man under an oath not to betray his confidence, this wasn't something he could talk to him about.

He realised that for another time in his life, he was truly alone.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _For those that don't like the angst stuff, the next chapter should be the last of it for a while._

_I'm currently trying to write the China episode (Sacred) but having problems with it. For those that follow the show they'll know that it's the China episode. They'll know what happens there as well. I've watched that episode again and realised that with Harry involved, which he really needs to be, everything will just finish nicely, which isn't suppose to happen. If anyone can shoot me some ideas, please do._


	21. Veritaserum

**Chapter 21 - Veritaserum**

_(December - January)_

Christmas came and past quietly. There had been a large meal served at the Kent house that Harry had been invited to. Chloe had eaten with her father who had been hired by MI on December 24th and told he had until the 28th before he first turned up. After budget spending for so long the Sullivan's had a huge meal in celebration.

Lois, not able to spend Christmas with her father who was off in some distant part of the world had been torn between spending Christmas with the Kent's or the Sullivan's. In the end Lois decided that she'd spend the day with her cousin and the evening with the Kent's and Harry. Lana had spent the day spending time with everyone, eventually having a meal alone with Jason in her apartment.

Harry had done his best to appear cheerful, for which the most he was. There was however still the overhanging thought of him being alone. Having never been allowed to celebrate Christmas with the Dursleys, this was his first Christmas away from the magical world and despite the atmosphere and the people, it still felt somewhat hollow. The Weasleys were the ones responsible for insuring he had a good Christmas in the past and now half of them were gone. The other half were 4000 miles away.

He did his best to enjoy it, but he wasn't sure how successful he'd been. With the looks Lois had been shooting him he wasn't sure he'd managed successfully.

He'd spent the day in a Weasley sweater, the same one he'd worn on Halloween. That had gotten a few odds looks from Chloe and Lana. He wasn't sure if that was because he was wearing a colour that wasn't black or because they recognised it from his Halloween breakdown. Wearing the sweater had helped somewhat as a way of reminding him that the lost Weasleys were still with him in spirit.

Clark had been upset about Alicia leaving for a day or two but the Christmas excitement had cheered him quickly and as long as no one mentioned the blonde teleporter, he was content, doing what he could to help around the house.

Gifts had been exchanged and Harry had done his best not to spend too much. He had just bought for his friends what he thought they would like, not really bothering by the price tags. On one occasion though, after seeing the price of an item he'd found for Lana, he placed it back on the shelf. If anyone had worked out how much it had cost, he'd of had a lot of questions to answer.

What he had received had cheered him up somewhat. The common theme from the girls in his life was clothes. He had received several t-shirts and shirts, none of them having as much as a millimetre of black stitching on them. It added a problem for him though. Whilst he didn't want to wear anything other than his black clothes, not wearing their gifts would be rude. He'd have to find a compromise somewhere.

The holiday had been safe. There had been no life or death situations. Whilst Harry was glad for that, having nothing to take out his building frustration on was, well, frustrating. He knew with his temper he'd eventually snap and take it out on someone who was just trying to help and he was doing what he could to avoid such a situation. With his history in not getting what he wanted, he should have known trying to avoid a situation was the quickest way to find one. The incident in question had taken place only a few days after Christmas.

_**(December 27**__**th**__** 2004)**_

Christmas and Boxing Day past and the excitement that had been around Smallville for the last week was slowly dropping to back to standard levels. With that, Harry's mood slowly began to darken again. He didn't understand why. He'd been happy two days ago and nothing had happened to bring him down, but that's still what was happening.

He finally reached a solid down point whilst watching TV with Lois in his lounge. Clark was off doing chores, Lana was with Jason and Chloe was in Metropolis, having been offered a tour of Marauder Tower. With her father starting work there the next day, the tour was for his benefit, but Harry had seen to it that Chloe could go with him, something she was more than eager to do.

Harry and Lois sat in silence watching a film on his couch. It had been another of the DVD's that Harry had picked up during his initial 'buying' phase when he first arrived in Smallville. He still hadn't watched most of them, only watching one when a friend came around. Having spent years either physically training during spare time, playing chess or reading a book, watching something on a television still felt weird. Added to the years of conditioning from the Dursleys, it was a difficult habit to break into to.

The film Lois chosen had been alright so far. The uses of magic set him on edge slightly. An item similar in essence to a Horcrux was the main crux of the film and he couldn't help but think of Voldemort. As the film progress he slowly grew more uncomfortable. He watched silently as two magic users fought one another. The stories villain quickly overcame the hero and began throwing him across the room with thrusts of his staff, at first to immobilize the hero, then leading to spells that were clearly designed to shame his opponent. "It'd be something to be able to do that," Lois commented, casually watching the scene. "Especially in this town."

Having been in situations like that before, Harry didn't enjoy it quite so much. "Not when you're on the receiving end of it," Harry muttered quietly.

"What?" Lois asked, having missed Harry's comment.

He shrugged his shoulders, "Nothing."

Lois picked up the remote for the DVD player and put the film on pause. Harry turned to her enquiringly to find her looking at him, an expression of determination clearly shown on her face, "What is it with you these days?"

Harry did his best to look like he had no clue what she meant, "I'm fine."

Lois snorted and rolled her eyes, "You have _not _been fine. You've been moping ever since you stormed out of the hospital when Alicia was here. You were fine for a few days at Christmas but you seem to be snapping right back into how you were before it. You know how much I like uncomfortable silences and yours reached uncomfortable days ago. I thought you might snap out of it but that doesn't' seem to be happening."

"You're imagining things," Harry told Lois, sounding more forceful than he intended. He hated people pestering him about things, especially things that he couldn't explain. "I had a bad day in the hospital but I've been fine since."

"Please!" Lois exclaimed. "I know what fake smiles look like." Her expression soften slightly, "I know you've had a difficult life, anyone can tell that, but so have other people. There are people you can talk to about this."

The lights in the room flickering marginally was the only indication that Harry was growing more annoyed with the conversation, "You don't know what my life's been like," Harry told her, keeping his voice as calm as he could. He didn't want this conversation. He got on best with Lois here; he'd either have to convince her to stop talking or storm out of his house.

Lois laughed bitterly, "Well you don't talk about it so how could we?"

"You know plenty," Harry told her, wishing she would leave.

"We know the names of some of your friends, we know a few things about them, and we know about your home life and that you went to boarding school but that's all. The only reason we know about your family is because Chloe looked them up."

"They are not my family," Harry told her firmly. No matter what she said she was just making things worse. The Dursleys would always be a sore spot, especially at this time of year, but there was also the guilt he felt about hiding so much from his friends. He had told them so little about his life. He'd been thinking about it recently and having Lois bring it up hurt. "You wouldn't _want_ to hear about what my life was like before, so don't pretend to."

"You think your friends wouldn't want to know about you? You think I wouldn't want to know about you? We're your friends, we can help."

He didn't know what it was that caused him to say it; he didn't even know why the last comment had been the one to cause him to snap. Maybe something in him wanted her to know, either so she would understand or so that she would leave. He especially didn't know why he used the incident that he did. "You think you can help?" Harry growled at her. Had he been paying attention and not focused inwardly he would have seen the flash of fear cross her eyes. He hadn't noticed the temperature of the room rise or that the lights now had enough energy running through them that they glowing like miniature suns and audibly humming. The only thing that kept them exploding was the protective charms the Magitek Ward had cast on them when he had first entered the house.

He leaned over to her, rolled up both his sleeves sharply and moved the silver Magitek bracelets backwards. He held his arms out to her, fists closed. He pointed out the inch thick circular scar that each wrist held that were usually covered by the bracelets. He rotated his arms so that his underarms were facing her and showed her the matching scar on the other side, "Do you know how someone gets a scar like this?" Harry asked her, his voice cold.

"No," Lois said, her voice shaky despite her best efforts to cover it up.

There was a moment's silence. "Crucifixion," Harry told her. Lois, already pale, paled more. "You get those scars from the nails driven through your wrists when someone crucifies you."

It took Lois a second to find her voice, "What kind of sick freak would do that to someone?"

Harry laughed darkly, "The same one that killed my parents; the same one that tried to kill me for nine straight years. That's the same son of a bitch that would do that to a 19 year old. He thought it would be fitting for me; fitting for me to suffer that way. You think I can talk about this? You think anyone can relate to or understand?"

It was then that Harry properly looked into her eyes and felt the emotions she was broadcasting; shock, revulsion and fear.

Fear.

Her fear was direct at _him_.

He pushed himself out of his seat as he had been hit with a stinging charm. He took a few steps back and held his head in his hands.

What caused him to say that? Why the hell did he tell Lois that? He had no idea and now she was scared of him. He hadn't meant that, hadn't wanted that. A hand on his shoulder startled him out of his thoughts.

"I'm _not_ scared of you, you just startled me."

"I was speaking out loud?" Harry asked, taken aback.

"Yeah, you were and you do not scare me."

"I did," Harry told her. "I could feel it. I don't know why I said that."

Lois ignored the last sentence for what it truly was, "I told you; you startled me. I can't say I've ever seen you angry before and what you told me scared the hell outta me. You can talk to your friends about this."

"How can I tell people I've only known for a few months that I was _tortured_? Any smart person would turn and run if I told them that. I'm not right in the head. I'm just surprised it's taken me this long to snap at someone."

Lois stepped into his line of vision, determined. Harry saw no trace of fear in her eyes anymore, just a need to help him deal with his demons. "Come on, sit down."

Harry didn't hesitate and sat down next to Lois. "I know you don't like being type-cast, but the way your feeling isn't unnatural. It's not completely the same but when I was still living on the military bases with the General I saw people that react like you."

"You've what?" Harry asked.

"The soldiers sent to wars, ones that were fired on, shot, or had a friend die." She took one his hands in her, "It's called Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. It happens when you've seen or been part of a traumatic event. I've seen men come back from wars and close themselves away. With everything you've told us about you, I'm surprised it's taken you this long to snap at someone."

Harry exhaled deeply. "I didn't mean to snap at you," he told Lois uncomfortably.

Lois smiled reassuringly at him, "Better me than anyone else here. You don't spend as long as I did in army barracks without hearing stories you shouldn't. I can help, or at least try."

"What helps?" Harry asked quietly.

"Talking to someone helps. I'd recommend a shrink if I thought for a second you'd actually listen to me."

Harry laughed slightly; yeah, he would have completely ignored her. "Talking helps? People have been telling me that for years and I've never believed it."

"From what I've seen," Lois told him. "How much sleep have you been getting?"

"I've been sleeping fine," Harry answered on reflex. Lois looked at, clearly disbelieving. Harry knew that insisting he was sleeping fine wouldn't work. Technically he hadn't slept in well over a year now, usually getting an hour or two occlumency induced rest a night. "Maybe 4 hours a night at most," Harry lied to Lois, knowing neither truth would work.

"You hide it well," Lois told him with a smile. "You have to tell me your secret."

"My what?" Harry asked, startled.

"The make-up secrets you know to hide the bags under your eyes."

Harry choked on his tongue, "Make-up? I don't wear make-up." He noticed the amuse smirk on Lois' face and sighed, "You're funny Lane." He was thankful for her comment. Whilst it had taken him by surprise and whilst he had interpreted it wrong, she was still messing with him like she usually would.

"I know," Lois said, clearly pleased with herself. "How about I leave you for a bit to think about what you want to do?" Lois asked.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "Yeah, probably do me some good."

Lois pushed herself to her feet and Harry followed. He walked her to the door, "Thanks Lois."

She nodded, "Remember, you can talk to me about this if you want."

"I'll think about it," Harry said with a small smile, trying to show that he would. Maybe he couldn't tell her everything, but getting some stuff off his chest would probably do him some good. "Don't tell anyone about this, alright?"

"You're secrets safe with me," Lois promised. "You coming out tonight?"

Harry shook his head, "I'll come find you tomorrow sometime."

Lois nodded before punching him in shoulder, "Make sure you do." With that, she turned and left. Harry shook his head at her antics before going back inside. He closed the door and leaned against it. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath.

"What do I do now?" Harry asked himself. "Why did I tell her?" He massaged his temples, thinking hard. Lois knew another part of him, a darker part and she seemed alright with it. That was good. He knew she'd treat him somewhat differently now, but hopefully she wouldn't give him those pitying looks everyone else use to give him. He'd notice her arm tense before she punched him. For Lois that was unusual and Harry was sure she'd done that in order to warn him that she would punch him like normal. She'd be more careful around him for a while, but hopefully she'd get over it.

None-the-less the mere fact that he was hiding one less secret made him feel lighter; not much, but some. He made his way up to his study and turned on his laptop. He logged on to the internet and search for 'Post Traumatic Stress Disorder' or 'PTSD.' He spent an hour looking through what he could find. From what he read he understood what Lois had meant when she had told him that she was surprised he hadn't snapped before now. From what he read some of the most common causes of PTSD were violent assault, kidnapping, torture and experienced a personal disaster. Symptoms were even linked to child abuse. Having experienced all of that, and for the PTSD to really kick in now was surprising.

What Lois had said was right. Talking would help although talking to a professional was what was recommended. There was also medication that he could take, but that likely wouldn't have much effect on him.

_(December – January)_

The following days Harry felt better. He had spent the rest of the day after Lois' talk just thinking. He had promised his friends before and after their death's that he would keep on living and that was something he was beginning to break. He couldn't remain depressed; he had enough to live for. He had forcibly told himself that he _would_ snap out of it.

The day after he spoke with Lois he wore a yellow and grey polo shirt that had likely been the only non-gag item of clothing that she'd bought him. He had yet to work out just how which of the t-shirts had been a gag gift, especially the pink one that Lois had gotten. As well as several t-shirts she bought him a couple of CD's of her favourite music.

Everyone's reaction to the drastic colour change had made him smile. Lois' smile had said more than everyone else's and he knew that was because it was the shirt she'd gotten him. After their talk the day before his change in colour clearly said more.

He'd noticed that with him happier everyone else seemed happier as well. Something Ginny had told him a few years ago had sprung to mind, _"Harry, when you get depressed, everyone can feel it, no matter how well you think you're hiding it..." _Clearly his attempts to smile hadn't fooled anyone. _"…but when you're happy, when your happy everyone can feel it. It's like you radiate it somewhat. I don't know if it's your magic that does it, it's just how everyone feels,"_ had been the rest of what Ginny had told him. She was still alive, although, where she was he didn't know. She had been one of the few people that could rip him out of his sullen moods.

He knew that he needed some information on his friends. That was something else that was beginning to weigh on him. He didn't need to see them, didn't need to talk to them, he just needed to know if they were alright after his abrupt departure. He'd try work out how he could manage that without having to turn up in person.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Early January 2005)_

The next several days were better for Harry. New Years Eve had been a busy day. He had helped to set the Talon up for the end of the year celebration along with almost a dozen other people. This also involved removing a good deal of Christmas decorations as the place would have been over-decorated otherwise. That night he had spent time jumping back and forth between the Talon party and the First annual New Year's party at Marauder Industries. Having missed out on the Christmas party, Zeke had all but ordered him to turn up to this one. Drink-Apparating was punishable by law due to the splinching incidents so he kept the alcohol to a minimum.

It had been the first time he'd interacted with his employee's on a personal basis and spent the evening, disguised as Alexander Black, getting to know the people that worked for him. In the end, he'd spent more time at Marauder Tower than he had in Smallville, but everyone in Smallville was too drunk to notice. For the bells he Apparated back to Smallville and had been kissed at midnight by a very drunk, very enthusiastic Lois. It had taken him a moment to realise what had just happened and by the time he did Lois had moved across the room and exuberantly shaking hands with whoever crossed her path; some people more than once.

Lana had kissed him on the cheek just after midnight and that had brought a smile to his face. It was likely all he'd ever get from her, so he'd enjoy it when he could.

The party had continued until late and by the time things were winding down only he and Clark were sober amongst the group. Knowing that a lot of people were looking forward to the party Harry had done his part to ensure that it would be a success. The day before he had looked up and cast and specific notice me not charm on the Talon. Anyone not looking for a party and to have a drink wouldn't be able to find the Talon. He had also provided the alcohol, including several bottles of champagne. They didn't have a liquor license but Harry had somehow convinced Lana that he had taken care of it. Why she believed him without proof, he didn't know.

Harry was seated on the Talon bar watching Clark, the ever responsible adult, steer people out of the Talon. He had been unsure about allowing everyone to drink alcohol due to being underage, but Harry, the devil on Clark's shoulder, had talked him into it; having two people with superpowers to keep order if things got out of hand had convinced him. Clark needed to have more fun and Harry had decided that, as he needed to have more fun as well, that he'd drag Clark with him.

"That wasn't so bad was it?" Harry asked Clark who was now tidying the room. It was in a surprising good shape all things considered.

"It could have been worse," Clark agreed. "I can't say the same thing about Lois when she wakes up though." Clark looked over to the near comatose Lois who was asleep on a chair in the corner of the coffee shop with an amused smile. "She's going to have to headache in the morning."

Harry laughed quietly as to not disturb Lois, "She's usually alright with her drink but she clearly had some secret reason to drink herself into a coma tonight. If she was aware of it before hand it would surprise me." Lois had been a force of nature during the party, barely staying still for a minute. She had also drunk non-stop and had finally succumbed to the alcohol; a difficult feat for Lois.

"I saw she kissed you," Clark said with what a small amused smirk.

Harry found himself blushing slightly; he had been sure no one had seen that. "Like I said," Harry told Clark, trying to save face. "She was far more drunk tonight than she's been in a while. She'll have no idea what she did when she wakes up."

"Unless someone tells her," Clark said innocently, tying up a black plastic bin bag.

Harry paused for a second, running Clark's words through his head a second time, making sure it wasn't a hallucination. "You will say nothing," Harry told him.

Clark said nothing but the amused look never left his face as he continued to tidy up. "I've known some of the best prankster's the world has ever seen. My father had filing cabinets full of punishment for pranks he pulled and I've been taught by professionals. Do not tempt me."

"So if I tell Lois what she did you'll prank me?" Clark asked. "I think it's worth it."

Harry grinned evilly at Clark, "You'll regret it."

"We'll see," Clark said before going into super speed, reappearing a second later with all the bin bags gone. Harry was sure the powers had been used to remind Harry just who he was dealing with. Clark was at the disadvantage of not knowing most of what Harry could do though. Harry still wasn't sure just what magic would do to Clark, but he was sure it would work.

"That's handy," Harry said in approval. Not as handy as vanishing things, but still handy.

Harry looked at Clark closely. He seemed far more at ease tonight and he didn't know why. He hadn't had a conversation like this with Clark in a while at any rate. Of course, he was in a better mood, but he had a reason for that.

"Damn," Harry said aloud, slightly impressed.

"What?" Clark asked.

"I've worked out why you're in a good mood."

"I've not been in a bad mood," Clark said in confusion.

"Lana kiss you on the cheek at midnight?" Harry asked, a slight smile on his face. If he thought hard enough that Lana was out of bounds for him, joking about things like this was easier. It didn't annoy him quite as much.

Clark blushed slightly, "You saw that?"

Harry shook his head, "I guessed. About then I had Lois' tongue down my throat." Clark looked slightly ill at the image. "If you tell her I will end you," Harry promised Clark.

Clark's smirk came back for a second, "So where did you keep going tonight?" he asked casually.

Harry paled slightly, "You noticed that as well?

"I saw you disappear a few times."

"I was at a party in Metropolis that I was invited to."

"Where at?" Clark asked curiously.

"Just some people I know," Harry said, hoping Clark got the hint not to ask more. He couldn't say he was at a friends party because then Clark would be curious at to who those friends in Metropolis were.

Clark surveyed him for a moment, clearing trying to read his intentions. After a few long seconds Clark shrugged and took a seat, "If you say so."

"Thanks Clark." He looked around the Talon that was now reasonably tidy. Harry didn't feel all that guilty about letting Clark do most of it. They had been trusted with closing the place down for the night. There hadn't been any talk about tidying it but both being the Good Samaritan's they were, they helped out. "So what do we do with sleeping beauty in the corner there?" Harry asked with a nod in Lois' direction.

"I'll put her in the truck and take her to her bed."

"Still sleeping on the coach?" Harry asked.

"I'd sleep in the barn, but it's too cold for that. It doesn't bother me, but Lois would notice something was odd."

"How about I let her stay at mine tonight?" Harry asked. Having two spare bed rooms it was something he should have done at the start of the holiday but the idea of Lois snooping around his house and finding something she shouldn't worried him. In her current state he'd be impressed if she even remembered her own name so one night was safe. "Let you have a bed for the night."

"You sure?"

Harry nodded, "Should have offered when she first turned up. We've both known her about the same time and I've probably spent more time with her. It seems fair."

"You'll be able to get her home alright?"

"Teleporting home will be fine," Harry told him, remembering not to use the word 'Apparate.'

"Alright, but that just means it's you that'll have to deal with a hung-over Lois in the morning."

"Gives me a chance to see what she remembers before seeing you," Harry told Clark with a pointed look. "I get to mock her for her hang-over as well." He pushed himself off the counter, "You're ok with closing up without me?"

"I'll be fine." He glanced over at Lois, "Just take her to a bed."

"See you tomorrow Clark," Harry said. He walked over to Lois, slipping one arm under her knees and one arm behind her shoulders and lifting her up. Concentrating very carefully he Disapparated from the Talon taking extra care to be silent and try and make the uncomfortable transport method as comfortable as he could. He suspected that Lois wouldn't wake up even if he splinched her in half.

He Apparated into his upstairs bedroom and gently laid her on his bed. Having no use for the other bedrooms so far, the beds hadn't had any of the comforting charms placed on them, so for tonight, he'd let Lois use his bed. Her hang-over in the morning was likely going to be pretty bad and sleeping on a magically enhanced bed would help. He sat on the end of the bed and pulled off her shoes after struggling to work out how the straps worked. He levitated them to the corner of the room. He thought of what he needed to do next before stopping cold, realising something he hadn't considered before; getting Lois out of her dress.

He knew she'd spent a lot of money on it, overhearing her talk to Chloe about it when trying not to listen. He knew she'd be especially annoyed if she slept in her dress and discovered it ruined in the morning. There was obviously the magic solution to doing this, involving another pair of clothes and a switching charm. The problem with this approached was telling this to Lois in the morning, especially considering she wasn't wearing a bra.

She'd kill him if she woke up and realised that for Harry to have gotten her out of her dress he had seen her practically naked. He'd just have to hope Lois didn't remember enough about the previous night to think she changed herself. Plan in mind he summoned a clean t-shirt to hand. Hoping Lois wouldn't kill him in the morning he cast the switching charm on her dress and the t-shirt and found himself holding her black dress in hand.

He hung up the dress and moved over to Lois, pulling back the covers on the bed and sliding her under them. Casting a charm on her to alert him when she woke, he turned off the bedroom light and closed the door. He walked down stairs and sat on his couch. With a flick of his wrist the fireplace lit up. "Well," Harry muttered to himself. "You had an odd night."

Whilst it wasn't odd in his usual manner, he still found himself thinking hard about what had happened. The small kiss Lana gave him jumped to mind first. It had felt good; too good. He needed to stop thinking about Lana like that. She was unavailable and the object of her affection was already waiting in reserve in case of the boyfriend screwing up. If she started to date Clark, it was over then.

He had to stop thinking about her like that. That couldn't be too hard, could it?

Lois' kiss was brought to mind. Whilst she had tasted strongly of champagne and vodka along with a small amount of whatever lip-gloss she was wearing, he hadn't exactly been opposed to that kiss, despite it coming out of nowhere. He would have enjoyed it more had she been sober and not tasting so strongly of alcohol, but it was still something.

Chloe had told him not that long ago that she thought Lois might be starting to have feelings for him and that had been a difficult thought to remove from his head. Lois was gorgeous, she smart and could, mostly, handle herself in a tough situation. She was also strong, both physically and mentally. Any guy would be lucky to have her. Since Chloe had told him about perhaps being the focus of Lois' affection he'd considered whether or not dating her would be fair to her. In his mind, as he couldn't have his first choice, he'd settle for second choice.

Then again, his entire life had been like that, so why should this be different?

Put shortly, he was incredibly confused. The added thought that Lois did look cute in his t-shirt on his bed didn't help matters.

The reason he hadn't wanted Clark to tell Lois anything should she not remember was not because he didn't want her to know, or didn't want her teased, but because, on the off-chance that she did have feelings for him, she would probably be mortified of what she had done. There was already enough tension in their relationship just now with him having blurted out that he had been tortured; he didn't need to add her drunkenly kissing him to that list.

Feeling tired Harry relaxed back in the chair, running through his occlumency exercises and he allowed himself two hours of rest.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Ten hours later the spell he had cast to alert him when Lois woke up activated. He stood up from his seat in the lounge and moved through to the kitchen, picking up a few things for Lois. He made his way up to his room and knocked twice on the door before opening it.

"Harry?" Lois asked, her throat sounding painful. Considering how dehydrated she would obviously be and how loud she had been talking last night, Harry was surprised she could even speak. He had several potions that could help her, but getting her to drink one without explaining what it was would be down right impossible. Muggle methods would have to instead, no matter how primitive.

"I would ask if you were decent," Harry said to Lois as he stepped into the room, making sure she was in fact decent. "But you've never been before." He caught sight of Lois doing her best to sit up in his bed, squinting at the sunlight coming through a gap in his curtains.

He placed the glass of water and the headaches tablets on his bedside table before moved over the bedroom window, pulling open the blinds quickly. Lois moaned in pain, ducking her head as the light reached her eyes, "How's your head?" Harry asked innocently.

Whilst he didn't want Clark bringing up her kissing him and embarrassing her, he had no qualms about being nice to her this morning.

She glared at him, "If I was sure I could stand up you'd be in a world of pain."

Harry ignored her, "Drink your water and take the headache tablets."

She mumbled something under her breath but obeyed none the less. She swallowed the pills, her eyes still half closed. She finished the water and looked cautiously around the room, "This is your room, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry told her. His legilimancy had already picked up where her thoughts were heading but he'd let her squirm for a while.

She looked underneath the covers, checking what she wearing. She looked back up at him, clearly uncomfortable and dreading to ask her question, "We didn't…" she trailed off, glancing from the bed to Harry.

He knew what she meant but he put his best 'confused' face on, "What?"

"You know…" She still couldn't get the words out. Harry just raised his eyebrows questioningly. She took a deep breath, "We didn't sleep together did we?"

Harry smiled patronisingly at Lois. If they _had_ that was not a good question to ask the other person, "No Lois, we did not." Lois looked quite relieved to hear that but whether it was because they hadn't or because if they had, that meant she had forgotten, he didn't know.

"Do you remember _anything_ that happened last night?" Harry asked, testing to see if she remembered kissing him.

Lois frowned, trying to piece her night together. His legilimancy picked up scattered memories, barely anything complete. "I remember champagne and then very little after that." Harry nodded, relieved that she didn't remember much. Things would be less complicated that way. She groaned, "I didn't do anything embarrassing did I?"

Harry shook his head; other than drinking enough for four people and the kiss, there was nothing else news worthy. "You were pretty loud but more or less behaved yourself."

"More or less?" Lois asked, still not looking forward to the answer.

"You were fine Lois," Harry assured her. He hoped Clark wouldn't say anything. "How's your head?"

"How do you think?" she asked him with as much of a glare as she could manage.

"What I think would just get me into trouble when you're feeling better," Harry told, moving towards the door. "Just shower or whatever and I'll get you something to eat." Lois nodded, wincing at the pain movement caused. Harry hid a smile as he left the room.

He dropped back on his coach and picked up his book again. From what Clark told him about how long Lois took to shower he had a good half hour before she came back downstairs.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Forty five minutes later Lois entered his kitchen where breakfast was almost done. Whilst it was now technically afternoon, Harry had found a good old fashioned English breakfast was the best way to get over a hang-over. Considering he'd been making this breakfast since he was five he now had it down to a fine art.

"You're looking better," Harry told Lois, sparing her a quick glance. She was wearing one of his new t-shirts, one from Chloe if he remembered correctly, and a pair of his jeans. She looked quite small wearing his clothes in comparison with the Lois Lane that had a fondness for tight clothing.

"Feeling better as well. Smells goods," she said and catching sight of the food. "Need a hand?"

"Nope," Harry told her, concentrating on the eggs.

Lois sat down at his kitchen table, pouring herself a glass of orange, "So how'd I end up here last night then?"

Finished with the breakfast Harry divided it into two portions and past Lois hers, "Clark and I closed up the Talon after everyone was left. He offered to take you back but I volunteered; gave Clark a chance to sleep in a bed for a change."

Lois looked in no way guilty about robbing Clark of his bed. Instead she dug into her food. "This is good," Lois told him after a moment's silence. They ate in silence but the food disappeared quickly. After just avoiding disaster by cleaning the plates with a Scourgify charm Harry began to clean and tidy the kitchen.

"How did I get out of my dress?" Lois asked causing Harry to nearly drop the plates he was about to put back into their correct cupboard.

Harry made sure his face was relaxed before he turned back round, "You don't remember undressing yourself?" Harry asked.

"I don't think I remember anything past midnight."

Harry smiled slightly, making up a story he hoped Lois believed, "You undressed yourself. Took you a very long time if I remember correctly."

Lois frowned, trying to remember. Nothing came to her mind about it, "Right," Lois told him, clearing trying to prove she remembered. "Yeah, I remember now."

Harry just nodded, barely suppressing a smile. Someone knocked on the front door saving him the trouble of trying keep his smile hid. He moved towards the door, opening it to reveal Clark holding a bag. "Come in Clark," Harry said, moving away from the door.

"How's Lois this morning?" Clark asked as he came into the house.

"Only been up an hour but she's fine. Doesn't remember much though," Harry added with a pointed glance at Clark.

Clark just gave him a small grin.

"Smallville?" came Lois' voice from the far side of the room. "What are you doing here?"

Clark shot a small glare at the brunette for a less than welcoming greeting, "Mom wanted me to make sure you survived the night."

"You must be disappointed," Lois shot back, slipping easily into bantering with Clark.

Clark ignored her comment, "Mom gave me some of your clothes if you wanted to change into them." He handed the bag to Lois getting a small smile from her.

"Thanks Smallville." She turned to Harry, "I'm going to change."

She disappeared upstairs.

"She doesn't remember what happened last night?" Clark asked as she vanished from sight.

"She might later," Harry told him. "But as of now, all she remembers is the champagne."

"Where did you get that from? You never said."

"Same person who hosted the other party I was at last night," Harry truthfully told Clark. He had hosted the party as it was his company and he had bought a few bottles of champagne from Metropolis on the 30th."

"The same party that you won't tell me about?" Clark asked with a hint of reproach.

"It was nothing, Clark."

"You're not doing anything illegal are you?" Clark asked, a hint of worry in his voice.

"Ignoring multiple accounts of underage drinking and distributing alcohol to minors? No, to my knowledge I've not done anything illegal."

Clark took his word for it, something he was grateful for. He'd had Dumbledore complain about his methods several times before he died and he didn't need it from Clark now.

Lois chose then to come back down the stairs, no longer dressed in Harry's clothes. She dropped onto his couch and put her feet up on the table. He was amazed at her ability to throw off a hangover.

"So how much do you remember from last night?" Clark asked.

Lois shrugged, "Not much really. You do anything you're hoping I forgot?" Lois asked, not hiding the fact that she wanted some dirt on Clark. She looked over at Harry to see if he was giving any indication that Clark had done something she should know.

"I don't know if _I _did anything you would be disappointed to forget," Clark told her. The temptation to cast a silencing charm on Clark was overwhelming but he managed to hold back. Clark caught the look Harry was shooting him though.

"Oh? Who did something then?" Lois asked, looking for gossip.

"No one did anything," Clark told her after a moment silence. "Everyone behaved."

"Hmm," Lois mumbled.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Not my best chapter, but neither was it my worst. Let me know what you thought._

_Next Chapter: __**Immobulus**_


	22. Immobulus

**AN:** _Sorry about the slightly late update, but I'm having internet problems again (how I hate BT!) and I'm using a friends computer to upload this. The problem __**should**__fixed soon though and then I can reply to reviews and PM's I get._

_Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter! I got far more for a chapter than I've had before and it's good to see. Keep it up! Oh, __**another**__ poll has been added and I'm definitely taking the result seriously for how this story goes. I know I started with a huge handicap with pairing Harry and Lana, but now general opinion is screaming 'Lois!'. I'd like to know what the masses think._

_Let me know what you thought of the chapter._

**Chapter 22 – Immobulus**

_(Friday January 28__th__ 2005)_

Harry walked through the reception of Marauder Tower. He nodded towards the pretty brunette receptionist, the same one that seemed to be sitting at main desk every time he came here, even if it was 8am like now. He'd spoken with her a few times during his early morning visits. Her name was Jennifer O'Neil; Jenny to her friends. She was twenty one and lived in a cheap small two bedroom flat a mile from the building with her little sister, both of whom had been kicked out home by their father. He hadn't asked why.

She was incredibly smart as far as he could tell. He had asked her why she working here instead of at University. She'd told him that she was supporting her sister and trying to save for her sister's education; an admiral cause. Harry had mentioned to Zeke about increasing the receptionists wages somewhat. Zeke had told him he'd consider it. Harry had learned by now that that meant it wasn't going to happen. Logically he knew that it wasn't something that could just be done on a whim and his 'saving-people-thing' was acting inappropriately.

The lift doors opened just as he reached them and closed the moment he stepped clear of the door. Instructing the lift to take him to the lowest levels of the building, he felt the lift move sharply to the left. Having taken this trip a few times now, he knew what to expect. After the first several trips he had mentioned to Zeke just how impractical it was to journey to the top floor of the building just to get to the bottom again. It had taken Zeke a week to get it arranged but now the reception lift moved left as well as up and down, meaning the lift would pull sideways before dropping to his training ground.

After a few seconds he felt the lift change direction and begin to drop. It didn't take long to reach his destination. The doors opened to the stone room that was already lit up. As it took a few seconds for the lights to full illuminate the room, Harry now had down the trick to activate the lights before the doors opened.

He had appropriately named this place, 'The Basement.'

He moved through the underground room and to the door to his left. The lock clicked opened as he neared it and he pulled open the door entering a brightly lit dojo style room. The walls were the same stone as the main room but the majority of the floor was padded with thin mats that would protect him slightly from a fall to the ground.

He shrugged off the jacket he was wearing, tossing it to a corner, as he walked to the centre of the room. For a few minutes he stretched, making sure he wouldn't pull a muscle. He finished his stretches and held up a hand, "Activate all."

From the wall in front of him six of the human looking golems activated and moved towards him. They were all dressed in black robes and white skull masks; dead ringers for Death Eaters. He found the visual helped him better when he was fighting than just having them look plain. They each held a small wooden stick in their right hands and moved closely to him.

They raised their fake wands and began their attack. Whilst they were only using spells of different colours with no effect other than marking where they hit Harry, he moved quickly, shielding several of the attacks, dodging others. They continued to fire and he continued to dodge. He had promised Zeke that he wouldn't damage any of the golems and now only shielded and dodged when using them. There had once been ten of them.

He blocked a multitude of coloured lights, ducking and rolling away from the colours he knew he wouldn't be able to shield from in a real life manner, such as the greens and burnt orange spells. He conjured obstacles to hide behind to block spells he need he could. They signified two of the three Unforgivable curses.

He continued his odd dance with the stone mockeries of Voldemort's followers for 20 minutes by which time he was breathing heavily, "Stop!" Harry called and the golems stopped where they were. "Deactivate," he told them and they moved back into the positions they had been when he first entered the room. He moved back towards the door where a few bottles of water sat. This was apparently one of the things the house-elves did for him. He poured one bottle over his face and drank another.

He looked in the mirror to his left to see what 'damage' the golems had done to him. After his first session it looked as though he had been drenched in multiple colours of paint; he hadn't done well. It had surprised him how out of practice he was in. That was slowly improving though. There were a few spells he recognised as cutting curse across his torso, enough that he probably would have bled to death by now without wearing appropriate armour. A couple more colours marked some dark curses, that whilst weren't lethal would have been very painful.

The two green spots on his chest bothered him though. Those were meant to be killing curses. It was, however, better than last time. Whilst having been hit with two killing curses was not good, it beat the four he received on Wednesday and there were no dark orange spell marks to show the Cruciatus. He was determined to get through a session like this in a month without a mark. He was going to get back into shape and stay that way. He was feeling more relaxed these days than he had in years.

He moved towards the gym section of the underground where he had all the latest exercise equipment available for him. He started the treadmill at a slow run and worked to keep up using this as a method of cooling down. He slowly adjusted the treadmills speed until he had it down to a slow walk and eventually turned it off.

He left the gym, picking up a vial of a potion that he knew helped sooth the muscles without undoing the work he had just done; another service of the Marauder House-elves.

He moved back to the room with the padded mat and lay down on the floor waiting the fifteen minutes it took for the potion to kick in. It acted almost as a pain reliever, removing the negative effects a work out took on the body. The potion kicked in and he lay on the floor for a few minutes letting it do its work.

He pushed himself to his feet, casting numerous cleaning charms on himself as a replacement for a shower and moved through to what he called 'The Battery Room.' Part of his workout was throwing as much electricity into the generators as possible, doing what he could to improve how long he last without needing to absorb more electricity from his surroundings.

He sealed the door and thrust both hands forward, firing lightning into the conductors. He held on full strength, managing for just less than 70 seconds before stopping. Given that his first attempt at this only got him 60 seconds, he had noticeably improved with each attempt.

Deciding he was done for the day, he shut down The Basement and entered the lift. He walked through the reception, nodding towards Jenny again as he neared the front door. He idly wandered what the receptionist thought he was doing, now spending four days a week, an hour in the building and no one seeing him other than in the reception. If her memory was a good as it seemed she would be unlikely to forget his pattern and find it odd.

He made his way onto the streets of Metropolis and walked to his destination. A couple of months ago he'd found a small Irish pub three miles from Marauder Tower that was open all day and cooked a fine fried breakfast. It was no Molly Weasley breakfast, but it was better than most he'd tasted before, including anything prepared by the Hogwarts elves. They also served Guinness, which, after drinking American beers for a few months, was a godsend.

The pub was a bit out of the way and the only reason he'd even entered the place had been because of the obvious Irish name of the place. He had spotted in when roaming the city with Lois. His curiosity had been too strong and he had investigated. It soon became the pub of his choice when he had an evening with little to do.

He opened the door to 'O'Malley's', catching sight of the owner, Sean, reading The Daily Planet at a nearby table, "Morning Sean," Harry greeted as the patron of the establishment looked up.

"Mornin' Harry. How ya today?" Sean folded up his newspaper and leaned back in his chair, brushing his sandy-brown fringe away from his eyes. Sean had emigrated to Metropolis from Ireland when he was twenty four with his brother, Mike. They'd set up the bar together and ran it for three years until Mike was mugged two miles from their home and stabbed to death. Sean still had a strong Irish accent.

Harry rotated his shoulder that cracked loudly. He'd landed on it oddly, throwing himself out of harm's way from a faux-killing curse and it was acting up. "Better than that sounded at any rate," Harry told the man with a smile. "Sophie awake?"

"She's just getting Grace sorted; has a play-date today," Sean told him. Sophie was Sean's wife of seven years, having met him when he emigrated from Ireland to Metropolis. She and her friends had been wandering Metropolis at night and stumbled upon Sean's bar. She spent the rest of that night talking with him, eventually getting married a little over a year later.

Grace, Sean and Sophie's six year old little girl could be classified as dangerous. Harry had met her a few times and she had taken to having her breakfast with him. She was currently at a stage in her life that meant she wanted to hear all sorts of stories about brave knights, beautiful princesses and evil warlocks. Harry, having an interesting perspective on that told her modified versions of his stories whilst he ate. In an odd sort of way, doing so felt somewhat therapeutic to him.

Lois had told him a few weeks ago that he should talk to someone about what was bothering him and telling 'stories' to a girl who was enraptured by them helped. It helped telling the story of his life in a way where no one got seriously hurt and everything turned out alright in the end. It was escapism, but it worked for him. It had reached a point now that Sophie, Sean's wife, would listen to his stories as well and had even suggested that he should write them and get them published as he so obviously had a fantastic imagination.

Harry somewhat doubted that any magic government in the world would let him get away with that.

"Anything new with you then?" Harry asked as he took a seat in front of Sean. After discovering this place a few weeks before the New Year he'd been here a couple dozen times, both evenings and nights, and he had a good rapport with the family.

"Same ol', same ol' Harry. Yersel'?" Sean asked.

"Nothing at all," Harry told him relaxing from his workout.

"What 'bout your arm then?" Sean asked. "Don't remember it makin' that noise last time you were here."

Harry rotated his arm again, trying to work out the kinks. "Landed on it funny this morning. It'll be fine in an hour or two."

"If you say so. Remember, you don't stay young forever," Sean told him with a smile. "Oh, that reminds me, Grace has something she's been wanting to show you."

"Oh?" Harry asked with a smile. It had been odd for him around the little girl at first, never having been a similar situation before. She had been naturally curious about him after she recognised him for the third time. It had only taken one small comment to her about a magic, with a bit more detail than most would know, and he had himself an admirer. After all, if someone knew details about unicorns and dragons, they were very cool, at least according to her logic.

"She's been pestering Sophie about it for a week and my wife finally relented yesterday to keep her quiet."

"And did it?" Harry asked. Sean's frustrated sigh clearly indicated that it had not. "She's not that bad," Harry told him.

Sean rolled his eyes but smiled, "That's 'cause she sits down whenever you turn up to listen to your nonsense stories. You just get her asking questions, not running around and asking questions."

"Daddy!" a voice shouted from the apartment above the pub.

"Down here sweetie!" Sean called back up and glanced towards Harry.

Thundering footsteps reached their ears moments later and a short girl with long hair a shade darker than Sean's bounded down the stairs. Harry caught sight of what she held in her arms and knew what Grace had recently been bought. She bounded over to Sean. "Morning daddy!" Her accent had the very slightest hint of Irish in it. Sean kissed her on the top of her head.

"Excited 'bout your day?" Sean asked the girl.

"Uh huh!" Grace said quickly. "Sammy's mum said she has _lots and lots_ for us to do!" She then noticed someone else was sitting with her dad. "Harry!" she half shouted upon seeing him. "Look what mummy got me!"

Harry smiled down at the little girl. In her hands was a large plush unicorn that was about a third her size. The first comment he'd made to her had been about unicorns when she'd been showing off her new t-shirt to dad during one of the mornings he'd been here. He'd idly commented, making a small reference to 'Fantastic Creatures and Where to Find Them' about the animal and she'd been entranced. "Is it a unicorn?" Harry asked.

"Yeah! I pest... pestered mummy into getting me it!" she told him with a proud smile.

"Pestered?" Harry asked, glancing at Sean.

"Uh huh! That's what daddy said I was doing," Grace told him. Sean laughed quietly. She held the unicorn to Harry, "You want to hold her?"

Harry had no idea how he got himself into such odd situations, but he played along. "Unicorns don't like boys though," he told her.

"Nuh uh! She likes you," Grace told him adamantly.

"You sure?" Harry asked.

She nodded seriously, "Boys are icky, but she likes you."

Harry laughed and took the unicorn from the little girl. It felt a little odd, like a softer version of the bean bags that Dudley had had when he was seven and decided he wanted to be a juggler. He'd gotten bored very quickly and used the multi-coloured bags to hit Harry with as long distance target practice. The toy was a little more on the purple side than most unicorns were, but it was an accurate representation none the less. He handed it back to the girl who hugged it to her chest. "She's very pretty."

"Uh huh! She's called Starlight and she's... four years old," she held up four finger. "'Cause you said they don't have horns till then," Grace told him proudly. Sean rolled his eyes with a small smile.

Harry smiled at the excited girl. He'd told her, in the form of a story, about how he first saw a unicorn. Of course, in the story the unicorn survived and lived happily ever after, not drained of its silver-blue blood by a dark lord. The horror of that night seemed lessened after telling it as a child suitable story.

"Grace!" an angry voice shouted from upstairs.

Her eyes widened as she glanced behind her to where she had just come from. "Uh oh," she muttered. "Bye Harry!" she shouted as she turned and ran.

Harry just chuckled as she vanished upstairs. "Any idea what she did?" Harry asked.

Sean just shook his head and glanced down at the paper in hands, "I don't want to."

Harry was about to say something to Sean when his phone rang. He pulled it from his pocket and glanced at the number calling him. Other than it being a Metropolis number, he didn't recognise it.

"Harry Evans," he answered. He had no idea who could have his number. He assumed that he knew everyone that had his number.

"Hey Harry," came Lois' voice across the line.

"Morning Lois," Harry said, "Surprised to hear you up already."

"Yeah," said Lois uneasily. "About that…"

"What's wrong Lois?" Harry asked, rarely having heard her sound so hesitant.

"I kind of got myself into a situation that I'm having a difficult time getting out of."

Harry leaned back against his seat; if anything, this should at least be interesting, "What did you do?"

"I swear it wasn't me that did it Harry," she told him, sounding just as serious as he'd ever heard her.

"Starting to scare me a little Lois," Harry told her seriously.

"I'll explain when I see you but I sort of need you to come pick me up from the West Metropolis Police Station and post bail for me."

Harry closed his eyes and sighed. "Sure. I'll be there as soon as I can," he told her. "Just… behave until I get there, yeah?"

"Sure Harry. Thanks." The line went dead.

Harry placed his phone back in his jacket pocket. He looked up to the ceiling, "Why me?" he asked quietly. From having a good breakfast in an Irish pub he was now picking up a friend from prison. And he was having such a good day.

He looked over to Sean who was looking at him curiously. "Ever feel having friends is more trouble than it's worth?" Harry asked him.

Sean laughed, "Things would get boring without them I think Harry."

Harry allowed himself a small smile, "Yeah, I guess. Listen, something's come up and I need to get back home."

"Everything alright?" he asked.

"Probably," Harry said. "I've got a friend to bail out though. Tell your wife I said hi."

"Sure Harry. Same time Wednesday?"

Harry nodded, "If everything runs according to how it should."

Harry turned walking out of the small pub and instantly Apparating back to Smallville. He wasn't meant to be in Metropolis according to what his friends knew and turning up in Metropolis without any proof of how he got there would make Lois' suspicious. He quickly found a motorcycle helmet and Apparated to his bike. He shrunk the helmet and pocketed it. Whilst he was willing to drive his bike without any protective gear, his friends were a different story. Not that they willing let him drive them anywhere anyway. He apparently drove too fast.

As if there was such a thing.

He gunned the engine, leaving Smallville in a cloud of dust.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry handed his MasterCard over to the MPD officer and watched as Lois' bail was paid. He hadn't seen her yet, nor did he know what she'd done. From the bill he had just paid, she hadn't killed someone, but it was more than just drunk and disorderly behaviour. He had already been here for an hour and he just wanted to get this sorted out. There was far too much paperwork.

Eventually the same police officer that he had been dealing with left and came back with Lois, who was very clearly hung-over. Her hair was a mess and she was squinting in the brightly lit room. Lois smiled slightly when she saw him. Harry just raised an eyebrow.

"Alright Miss Lane," the Officer said. "You're free to go for now. Just don't go too far."

"Sure thing Officer," Lois told him, her voice dry.

"We'll be in touch."

Lois nodded and moved toward. "Thanks for that," she told him seriously. "I swear I'll pay you back when I can."

"Don't worry about. I'm just glad you're still in one piece."

Lois laughed slightly, clutching her head as she did. "Ow. You know me, always resilient."

"You want to tell me what happened?" Harry asked.

"Can we stop by a pharmacy first so I can get two dozen aspirins?" Lois asked hopefully, holding her head.

"Yeah, I saw one just down the street. We can stop there and then get you some water or coffee or something before you pass out."

"Yeah, aspirins first though. Urgh, I swear, I'm never drinking again."

Harry smiled slightly, not believing her for a second.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Fifteen minutes later Harry and Lois were sitting in a nearby coffee shop, Harry with a coffee and Lois with a coffee and a tall glass of water. She had taken half a dozen aspirins, exceeding the recommended dose, and with a touch of subtle healing magic from Harry, was feeling a lot better than she had been not long ago.

"Story time?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Lois said. "I was at a frat party last night, drinking with a bunch of guys, and, winning by the way."

The memory of what happened to Lois the previous night flashed through her mind and into Harry's.

"_Now do you believe me? This isn't Suzy Sorority you're playing with. I've drunk vodka with Russian generals, black and tans with British battalion troops…" Lois told the guy in front of her. He was sweating and clearly drunk, though he looked determined to beat her._

"_Stop talking, start drinking!" he ordered, looking as though more words than that would have been impossible for him to say._

_Another person at the party placed more shots in front of them. They both picked them up, ready to down the shots. A large blonde guy walked over to Lois' competition and placed a hand on his shoulders, "What are you doing, man?"_

"_Drinking," he told his friend defiantly._

"_We've got physicals coming up," the blonde man reminded his friend._

"_Ask me if I give a rat's ass," the guy said in retaliation._

_Lois, clearly impatient chipped in, "Stop stalling and let's go. Drink up or pay up."_

_The blonde took the drink from his friend's hand, "All right. Let's get everybody out of here, all right? I got to wake up brutally early tomorrow. The recruit's coming." The drunken guy ignored his friend and picked the shot of tequila back up again. "Dude, you've had enough," his friend told him seriously._

"_I'm not even tipsy, asswipe," the guy slurred drunkenly. His hand began to shake and he dropped the small glass, spilling its contents across the table he and Lois were sitting at. He swayed sideways, falling from his chair. The room burst into cheers, Lois the clear winner of the drinking game, barely looking as though she'd been drinking alcohol. She rolled her eyes and easily downed the shot in her hand._

_The drunken guy's friend helped him to his feet, "Come on, lets get you into bed."_

"_Leave me alone, Johns," he protested weakly._

_Lois just smiled at the duo, standing up and walking out of the frat house. She made it to the street, still able to walk in a straight line. Her bunny slippers make soft tapping noises as they touch the tarmac. "Deep breaths, fresh air. The world is not spinning," Lois said to herself, trying to help fight the dizzy feeling._

"_Hey, wait up," a voice called from behind her. Lois turned to see the guy she just beat in the drinking contest stagger up behind her._

"_Shouldn't you be in pink elephant land right about now?" Lois asked him, surprised to see him able to stand up after the amount he'd just had to drink._

"_I got another game for you. Only this time, we both win." He smiled, and drunkenly staggered closer to her. "Come on, baby, give me some."_

_Lois pushed him back, "I've got a game for you, Football. It's called hide and go seek. You go hide, and I'll count to a billion. Ready, set, go." She turned and walked away._

"_Oh, come on! Don't be like that!" he protested, hurrying to catch her up._

"_You got a girlfriend, bonehead, go bug her," Lois told him, not stopping or turning around._

"_Come on!" he said, grapping her shoulder and forcefully turning her around._

_Acting on instinct Lois kicked him hard in the stomach, sending him to the ground. "Now, don't you think hide and seek would've been a little more fun?" Lois told him in mock sweetness._

"_Hey, that hurt!" he protested again, clutching his stomach._

"_Nigh-night, party boy," Lois said before turning and leaving him on the street._

Harry pulled out the memory, blinking a few times to focus his vision. "Anyways, I wake up this morning to someone knocking on my door, 7am I might add, telling me that the guy I kicked was paralyzed."

"Paralyzed?" Harry asked in surprise. He saw why Lois was nervous about this. "Fully?"

"So they tell me," Lois said. "There is no way that my kick did that to him though. I didn't even hit him that hard."

"Anyone with half a mind will be able to work that out. You'll be fine," Harry promised her. He was going to need to see this kid himself. Full paralysis could very easily mean that the guy had been attacked, possibly by a meteor infected person, or by a magic user. A simple Petrificus Totalus or a powerful Immobulus charm could easily mimic the effects of paralysis and there would be no way for the doctors to detect what happened or fix it.

"I hope the judge agrees," Lois said, still clearly worried.

"Hey, it'll be fine. How about we try visit the guy and see what the doctors are saying?"

"Don't you have classes?" Lois asked. Harry checked his watch, acknowledging that he was already missing class.

"I can afford to take a half day. This is more important. So what do you say?"

"As if they'll let me in to see the guy I was arrested for attacking."

Harry grinned at her, "You know me, I can get you into anything without being caught."

Lois surveyed him for a moment, before finally acknowledging that he was right, "Yeah, I guess. Alright, give me a few moments." She stood up and moved towards the ladies restroom and disappeared through the door.

Harry pulled his phone out his pocket and dialled Zeke's office. The phone rang twice before a female voice answered, "Ezekiel Griffis' office."

Harry blinked in surprise, having been told he would always get through to Zeke when he called. The female voice had to be Michelle, Zeke's secretary/assistant. "Can you pass me through to Zeke's office please?" Harry asked.

"I'm sorry sir, but Mr. Griffis has asked not to be disturbed for the next half hour."

Harry glanced towards the entrance to the ladies toilets, wanting to have this phone call made by the time Lois came back out, "Please tell Zeke that his boss is on the phone and wants to talk with him."

There was silence on the other end. Harry had counted to six before she spoke again, "Please hold."

Harry smiled to himself wondering what just went through Zeke's assistants mind in those silent seconds. Less than twenty seconds later she spoke again, "I'll transfer you through to his office now, sir."

"Thank you Michelle."

There was a click, dead silence for a second before Zeke spoke, "I'm guessing that's you Harry?"

"Yeah. What was happening that you had been put through to your secretary?"

"Sorry about that. It's been a long morning and I was just trying to have my breakfast in peace."

Harry winced slightly, "Sorry."

"Never mind, I was just reading the paper when your call got put through." He paused for a second and Harry heard him laugh slightly, "I think you scared Michelle."

Harry smiled, "There was a good six seconds silence when I said I was your boss. She'll be fine."

Zeke laughed again, "I'll tell her you said so. So what can I do for you?"

"We have lawyers, don't we?" Harry asked.

Harry counted the silence again, only reaching three seconds this time, "Do you _need_ a lawyer?" he asked, clearly not sure if he wanted an answer.

"For me? No. A friend of mine, Lois Lane, was arrested last night for paralyzing someone with a kick to the stomach. I've seen the memory and her kick did nothing to him. I'm going to go see the guy with Lois now and check for magical interference, but I want a lawyer to quietly check this out and make sure nothing gets out of hand."

"The guy's at Metropolis General?" Zeke asked after a moment's silence.

"Yeah. You can get this going for me?" Harry asked.

"I'll make some calls," Zeke promised. "We should be getting someone to deal with these calls when you make them though. We'll need to sort that soon."

"I'll be sitting in my office in a few months and we can find my go-between then."

"Alright. Let me make the calls and I'll let you know if anything comes up."

The girl's restroom door opened and Lois walked through. "Thanks Zeke," Harry said before hanging up. He stood and waited by the table for Lois. "You ready to go?" Harry asked as she reached him.

Lois nodded, albeit reluctantly, "Yeah. Let's see what we can find."

"Ladies first," Harry said, waving towards the exit. Lois shot him a dark look but moved anyway, picking up the bike helmet she had been given by Harry.

They walked out the door to his bike. Lois moved to put the helmet on but stopped, "Harry, thanks for bailing me out back there."

Harry shrugged. "Anyone would have done it," he told her. Despite how much he'd progressed as a person in the past years, talking compliments still through him off.

"No they wouldn't," Lois him. She sighed, "I tried to pay it myself but even though I would have maxed out four credit cards, I still didn't have enough. So, thanks."

Harry just nodded uncomfortably, "Sure. You ready?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry stood by the window of a hospital room while Lois stood over the paralyzed form of Dave Cooper. He lay flat on his back, staring up at the ceiling unable to move. He had an oxygen tube under his nose and a heart monitor beeped in the background. The boy's bedside table was devoid of cards, the day being too early for visitors and well-wishers. Having not had a chance to check Dave for magical interference he stood and listened to Lois as she spoke to the boy.

"Coop? Can you hear me? It's Lois, your, um, drinking buddy. I'm so sorry this happened to you, but I swear to God I didn't do it."

There was no response from the young man.

"Last night, I would've given anything to shut him up. And now," Lois said, clearly upset.

Harry moved over to Lois and wrapped an arm around her shoulder, not all that sure if it was an appropriate action but just working on instinct. Lois didn't shy away from him and relaxed slightly. "This will turn out fine Lois. I swear." He glanced down at Dave again, "Lois, could you give me a moment alone for a minute?" Harry asked.

Lois looked at him oddly for a moment. "Sure Harry." She turned and left the small room.

As soon as she was gone from the room he cast a silencing spell on the door and moved back over to the bed, making sure to stay out of the hospital ridden boy's line of sight. _'Finite Incantatem,' _Harry silently cast, his hand pointing towards the boy.

Nothing happened.

He cast several more cancelling spells but nothing worked. Switching to using his Omni-lens magic detection feature he looked over the boy.

'_Unknown' _flashed across his vision. Harry frowned. He was sure now that whatever affected the boy wasn't magical and the last time he had seen 'unknown' he had been looking at the green variety of meteor rock. He moved closer to Dave's head and looked him directly in the eye, looking for the memory of the attack, if in fact the boy had been attacked. His memories of this morning were fine, his memories of yesterday until 10pm were fine, but after that, an alcohol induced fog clouded his memories that Harry was unable to navigate. It reminded him once again that he was still an amateur in the art of legilimancy.

He thought about calling Zeke, letting him know that magic hadn't been used, that a meteor power had, and that magic couldn't dispel it, but stopped. He could tell in his last phone call that Zeke didn't have time to deal with, and listen to the madness that followed him on a day to day basis. Zeke was running an international company whilst he ran around trying to save the day. He really needed that assistant to help him out with things like this. He'd sort that out after this fiasco finished.

He ran a hand through his hair, running through options. He drew a blank. He would need more time to think this through. He sighed in annoyance as he removed the spell from the door and opened it; give him someone to defeat and he could do that without hesitation. Planning, waiting and not knowing what you were fighting gave him a headache.

He saw Lois look up from a waiting chair just outside the room. "What was that about?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, "Nothing. I just wanted a minute."

Lois looked at him quizzically, "Are you alright?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Am I…" Harry was about to ask. Harry realised what she was getting at. "Oh, no, I'm fine. This isn't something that's happened to me before." She had been concerned that this had brought up more memories that she knew he was fighting.

"You're sure?" she asked again.

Harry smiled, a proper smile, "Yeah. Come on, let's get out of here." He glanced around at the doctors and nurses, "I really hate hospitals."

They made it out of the hospital without incident and to the outside car park. Harry handed Lois the black helmet that he'd left on the bike. Lois took the helmet with a look of resignation, "Why can't you just get a car like a normal person?"

Harry shrugged, already having tried that, "I looked at some cars a while back but when I started considering cars with a six figure price tag, I stopped."

"You couldn't just settle for a _normal_ car?" Lois asked eyebrow's raised.

"You want me to buy a _slow_ car?" Harry asked, a mock look of shock on his face. If he did buy a car, it would have to be fast.

"A slow car wouldn't kill you," Lois pointed out slipping on the helmet.

Harry put on a show of thinking over what she said. "Does boredom still kill these days?" he asked, looking as innocently curious as he could. It didn't amount to much. Lois huffed in annoyance, causing Harry to laugh as the lens on the helmet misted up.

**OoOoOoOoO**

On Lois' urging they stopped by her place for her to shower and change of clothes before heading back to Smallville. Harry was at a loss for what to do now in this situation so regrouping back at Smallville seemed like the best option. If anything, they could see what Chloe could find. She had a talent for finding things with much apparent ease.

He arrived back at school during lunch where he was summarily given detention for skipping over half a day. He could have argued… magic'd, the detention away but he knew he deserved it. By the time he was done with Principal Reynolds, Lois had already found Chloe and they were talking in the crowded corridor.

"How did you post bail?" Chloe asked, surprised.

"I didn't," Lois said. "My credit cards maxed out so I had to call Harry. He came out when I called him and paid without question. It was sweet of him."

Harry saw Chloe smile; she had seen him approach a moment ago. "Sweet am I?" Harry asked Lois, casually.

She froze. Chloe's smile increased. Despite not being able to see Lois' face Harry could tell her expression was now stuck on annoyed resignation. She wouldn't be able to deny what she said and she knew it. She turned slowly, a look of annoyance on her face, "Do I need to put a bell around your neck Evans?"

Harry smiled a lopsided grin at her, "Kinky."

Her frown increased and she turned her back him, facing Chloe who was trying hard not to laugh. Lois saw her cousins expression. "Grow up," she told Chloe in annoyance.

"Sorry Lois," Chloe replied, clearly not meaning it.

Clark approached, wearing his letterman's jacket and a plaid shirt, stopping Lois before she managed to get further annoyed with everyone, "Lois, I heard what happened." Harry could tell from his tone that he was sitting on the other side of the fence to Lois just now.

"I see news travels fast," Lois muttered to him, clearly not pleased that everyone apparently knew of her arrest, nor of the tone of Clark's voice.

Clark nodded, "The guy that you put in the hospital, its Geoff's roommate."

He gestured down the corridor to a tall guy with shoulder length blonde hair, the same guy that had had stopped the paralyzed boy from drinking with Lois. He was chatting with several excited girls from his year and below.

"Clark, I swear to God, all I did was knock the wind out of him. I couldn't have paralyzed him," Lois told Clark, her voice pleading slightly.

"You were drinking, right?" Clark asked, looking at her doubtfully.

"Those days are over," Lois told him seriously. "No more alcohol. And that includes cough syrup and rum cakes." Harry snorted and Lois shot him an annoyed look. The school bell rung loudly, causing Lois to wince at the noise. She might have been feeling better than she had been a few hours ago, but that didn't mean she was at 100 percent.

"Damn," Harry muttered. He had class now and that didn't do much to help Lois. He cursed himself for deciding school was a good idea.

"Lois," Chloe said. "I'm heading up to Met U after class, why don't we round trip and see what we can find?"

Lois nodded, relieved that she had more help on this, "Thanks Chlo. I'll just make myself comfortable in the Torch. Harry, Smallville," Lois said to them, turned and left.

Harry watched her disappear through a door to her right and looked over at Clark, "Accusing her without knowing facts Clark? Nice." He nodded towards Chloe and walked to class alone.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The rest of the afternoon had gone incredibly slow for Harry. Whilst it was something he was more or less use to, he still hated going to class when something of a dilemma was waiting to explode on him. Whilst it wasn't as bad as trying to sit through class during a civil war it still frustrated him to the point that he stared carving out words and pictures on his desk with his finger before repairing the desk and starting again.

Class finally finished and Harry met with Lois and Chloe just by the front doors. "Harry, we're going to see what can find about Dave Cooper. You coming?" Chloe asked.

Harry shook his head, "I've got detention for skipping this morning so I'll meet you there when I get out." He glanced around and his expression darkened slightly, "Clark isn't going with you?"

Chloe was quick to defend her longest friend, "He's going up to Metropolis with Geoff about his Met U scholarship, so he'll meet us there."

Harry's frown didn't lessen much but he nodded none the less, "I'll see you later."

**OoOoOoOoO**

With his hour long detention finished with Harry Apparated straight back to Metropolis just outside of the Prometheus Lab. Whilst he wasn't going to bother Zeke with his find about magic and meteor powers being two separate abilities that don't interact well, the research lab could do to be told, if they didn't already know.

He'd visited the lab four times since the work had begun and not that much had been done. For three weeks straight the researchers and scientists had read everything they could get on any magical subject they could find. They had been lent a time-turner to speed the process up. After mastering the basics, the different subjects were split between different people, each one of them picking a subject to specialize in.

The research into the meteor rocks had only just begun as well. Harry gave the majority of the meteor rocks he had in his possession to the Prometheus group, barring the small amount of blue that he'd found. He didn't know what that did to Clark and decided putting off finding out was a preferable idea. For all he knew it could kill on contact.

The scientists had found several meteor infected people and, using the Marauder Security Group, containing several former aurors, lifted them out of Belle Reve after a master legilimancer that had been hired on retainer had investigated each inmate to see what powers they had. Six people had been pulled from the mental institute and magic had been used to disguise it. Harry had checked up on this immediately after being informed of it and made sure that they were being treated properly. Their current location was now much better than their past one.

Harry walked out of the dark alley he had Apparated to and headed towards the building. From the outside the place looked abandoned and a safety hazard. Police tape covered the door in an effort to keep people out. As he got nearer he felt the wards get more powerful. If he hadn't been keyed into them, the notice-me-not charms would have sent him away quite quickly.

He reached the broken down door and ducked under the yellow tape, making sure not to disturb it. He walked down a short corridor, taking the first door on the left. The wards got stronger. As he entered the room he waved his hand, levitating a bookshelf away from its position against the wall and revealing the metallic silver door of an elevator. The doors opened as he neared it.

As the lift dropped slowly Harry considered the security precautions for this lab. Whilst at first glance they seemed overly excessive, he knew that this research was not appreciated by the magic side of the government. Magic was just meant to be; there wasn't meant to be a logical reason for it. In fact, over 90 percent of American magic users firmly believed that God was the reason for their powers. It was said that seven percent didn't believe the God theory but agreed with it as to not be prosecuted. Harry had found that the remaining three percent openly stated that they didn't hold this believe and were treated close to the level muggleborns were in the Pure-blood centric Europe.

Thankfully Zeke had been part of this nine percent and had agreed to help Harry set this up. The lab assistants, mostly squibs, and magic capable guards were also in the nine percent. The lift doors opened and he found himself a wand point of two guards as well as facing down a gun from the third. They immediately relaxed upon seeing him and lowered their weapons. "Good afternoon Mr. Evans," one of the guards greeted.

Harry smiled at them and stepped out the small lift, "Afternoon guys." They nodded respectfully back at him. It was something that still made him feel uneasy, even though he had a group of people willingly following him during the war. Just like his status as the Boy-who-lived, he felt he hadn't done anything to deserve this respect.

Whilst there was a secure Apparition point a few feet next to the lift, Harry enjoyed taking the secret method in.

He made his way past them through to the lab. The interior was extremely white and well lit, giving him a bit of headache. He didn't enjoy being down here too much. It felt too much like a hospital for his liking. He made his way through the building. The lab was huge, much bigger than what was needed for the small group that worked here now. They had ten scientists, ten skilled wizards and ten squib lab assistants yet there was room for easily thrice that to work comfortably.

He found the office for Doctor Warner, the lead scientist of the team. Whilst each of the scientists had to learn about a specific branch of magic to specialize in, Warner had to do what he could to learn all of them. It was incredibly unfortunate that the man wasn't a squib or a wizard, if he had been, they could have slowly used the pensive memory input to help. That didn't work on muggles. As it was, the man had practically worn out a time-turner to learn what he could as quickly as he could.

"Enter," Dr. Warner shouted, clearly displeased with the interruption. Harry opened the door and walked inside. Doctor Warner, a man in his late forties with light brown receding hair and a pair of rimless glasses was reading from a large leather brown book. Harry saw the title and knew it was of the more advanced charms books that he had studied a couple of years ago. "What is it n…?" He looked up and upon noticing Harry, quickly rose to his feet. "I'm sorry Mr. Evans. I thought you were one of the lab assistants again."

Harry waved off his concern, "Don't stand on my account." Dr. Warner sat and Harry conjured a chair in front of Warner's desk.

"Thank you Mr. Evans," Warner said. Harry had been adamant about just being called Harry by everyone but Zeke had put a stop to that, even if Harry was unhappy about it. It all boiled down to the fact that whilst Harry was their boss, he was only 19 and that if he just allowed people to call him Harry, there was a chance that people older than him would resist his command. "To what do we owe your visit?"

"I had an hour to kill as I'm meant to be travelling from Smallville to Metropolis now with people having seen me leave and people expecting me to arrive. I've also just discovered something that I thought would prove useful in your work here."

"Our work Mr. Evans," Warner told him. He leaned across his desk slightly. "And what was it that you discovered?"

"There's someone in Metropolis General just now that's been paralyzed. I checked for magical interference and from what I can tell they've been attacked by a GME." GME stood for Green Meteorite Evolution, the standard name that had been given for someone infected by the green meteor rocks. The red sample, other than affecting Clark had had no evidence of changing people.

"You were able to tell this how?" Warner asked, pulling out a notebook and pen.

"You've heard of Omni-lenses?" Harry asked. Whilst the man in front of him had a lot of knowledge, few had heard of the lenses.

Warner typed something into the keyboard in front of him and quickly read whatever the screen said. "You have a set?" he asked.

"I do," Harry told him. "When I scanned the guy the display read 'unknown', which is the same thing it read when I looked at the green meteor rocks."

"Just unknown?" Warner asked. Harry nodded. "Well, that will need to be refined some more. So was there anything else?"

"I tried every method of removing a spell or curing paralysis that I know and it did nothing to dissipate whatever the GME had done."

"You believe that magic and the abilities of a GME have no effect over each other?"

"Sort of," Harry told him. "I've been able to use legilimancy on a few people, and magic works as well, but I don't think one can undo or stop the other."

Warner smiled and glanced at his watch. "We already knew this Mr. Evans. In fact, the source that brought us to this conclusion should still be here. Care to see?"

Highly curious Harry got to his feet and indicated Warner to do the same. The two men left the room and walked down a corridor to the testing lab that was magic free. "Mr Griffis sent her our way only four days ago and we've been monitoring ever her since."

Harry frowned slightly. Zeke had sent a GME here? How did Zeke even know someone with a power? Doctor Warner opened up the door to the monitoring room of lab 3. Harry entered and stood in front of the one way glass. Upon seeing who the GME was Harry smiled.

"Miss Baker, as I'm told you know, has a remarkable ability to teleport. Whilst monitoring magic has picked up minor similarities to the transport method of Apparition, it's really quite different," Doctor Warner told him. Harry looked into the room where the blonde teleporter, and ex-girlfriend of Clark stood. An invisible man with a wand in hand stood in the back of the room and a man sat at a desk with two monitors. One recorded her visually, the other, well, he didn't know.

"Now, if you could teleport one more time for me, just to where you're standing now," the lab assistant told her. Harry saw the small flash of green that he saw when she teleported. She flickered out of sight for just a moment.

"The most remarkable thing about Miss Baker," Doctor Warner said, pulling Harry's attention away from Alicia. "Is that she is able to teleport through numerous wards without difficulty," he finished. "Today we were testing a combination of wards on her, including all the common anti wards for Apparition and Portkey."

Harry nodded, watching Alicia teleport again. "We have both technology and magic monitoring her, although, as she doesn't know about magic the wizard is invisible."

"Have you found out anything yet?" Harry asked.

"Numerous things, although we only have the raw data just now. As Miss Baker is a volunteer we're trying to get through all her physical tests as soon as we can."

"Physical tests?" Harry asked. "There are other tests?"

Doctor Warner nodded, "There are several GME's that have been submitted to Belle Reve Mental Institute, including Miss Baker. We need to analyze whether this is because the meter rocks alter the victims mind chemically, or whether the phrase 'Power corrupts' is true."

That made sense to Harry. He was behind the adage of 'Power corrupts', having seen it happen to numerous magic users back in Europe. Scrimgeour had been a good Minister of Magic when his term began.

"She's getting paid for this right?" Harry asked Warner.

"Of course. She has been most helpful and is being paid accordingly. She is also remarkably intelligent and has shown a good understanding for science. We we're hoping to keep her around once we've ascertained all we can regarding her power and mental state."

Harry nodded, pleased with the answer. The lab assistant stood and it was obvious that their testing for the day was over. "Do you have time to speak with her?" Warner asked.

"Sure," Harry told the man. He had 45 minutes to kill, so there was no harm in that. They exited the observation room at the same time that Alicia exited her room.

"Hi Dr. Warner," Alicia said, greeting the head scientist. She noticed Harry and smiled slightly shyly, "Harry, hi."

Harry smiled back, "Hi Alicia. It's good to see you took me up on the offer."

"Can we go get something to eat and talk there?" she asked.

Harry laughed, "Yeah. There's a canteen around here somewhere. I've never eaten there so I have no idea where I'm going." He spun in a circle, seeing if the canteen was sign posted. It wasn't it.

Alicia laughed quietly. "I've been there before. Do you want me to take you there?" She offered a hand to Harry and he knew that was an offer to teleport him there.

Harry grabbed her hand, saw a flash of green light and then he was standing near a double set of doors that led to a small canteen area. Through the circular glass panels on the doors he could see a couple of people eating quietly. "Wow," Harry muttered. His voice increased slightly, "That's much more comfortable than my way." Her version of Apparition felt like nothing. He was in one place one moment and another place a moment later.

Alicia pushed open the doors to the canteen, "What does it feel like you when you teleport?"

Harry followed her, "It gets easier each time I try and you get use to the sensation eventually, but if you can imagine what tooth paste feels like getting squeezed out of a tube, you've got a close guess."

Alicia shuddered slightly. Apparition was not pleasant to someone just learning it. Harry was now thoroughly use to it. Lightning travel felt better though. It had a sense of power behind it. Alicia picked up a pre-package sandwich and a bottle of water and waited for Harry to make a selection. Not all that bothered, he picked up the same.

"How does this work?" he asked, looking around and seeing no cashier or till.

"The food is free. We can just help ourselves."

Harry snorted, "It's still me that's paying for it in the end though."

They sat down at the nearest table, "Is it true that you own this lab?"

Not sure how much she knew of his involvement he felt it better to ask than just blurt out secrets, "What have they told you about what I do?"

"They said that you're the boss, and that it's your money they're spending, but nothing else really."

"Let's just leave it at that then, alright?" Harry asked. Before she could ask anything further he spoke again, "So tell me, what made you chose to show up here? I honestly doubt I would have in your place."

"Well, I ran off to California after you said goodbye to me and I tried to start over again there. But, with my mom and dad not really speaking to me I had to get a job and find somewhere to live. There are very few people who'll take on someone without a high school diploma and a history of being in a mental institution. I managed for a little while but things got difficult and I decided that, as you helped me back in Smallville I'd see what you were offering here. I spoke to Mr. Griffis and he showed me here."

"So everything's going alright here then?" Harry asked.

She smiled, "It is. The work their doing is fascinating and their helping me understand what I am."

Harry nodded, "Dr. Warner mentioned that he wanted you to stay after your tests. He said you have a good understanding of whatever it is they do here."

"He said that?" Alicia asked, her voice becoming slightly shyer again. Harry nodded. Alicia was about to say something else, but she stopped and looked at Harry curiously, but stopped and looked curiously at him, "Why are you the head of this lab if you don't know much about what's going on?"

Harry shrugged, "I inherited a lot of money from relatives and I'm curious enough to want to know why people have powers. I want to know just why I can do what I can and if that's going to change me. I'd prefer to know that than have money just lying around. And if a breakthrough is made, maybe I can help those that don't have money for themselves to do this."

"That's very noble," Alicia said. She clearly though his idea was a good one.

Harry shrugged, "I'm just curious."

"How's Clark?" Alicia asked suddenly.

Harry thought about that. Whilst Clark was more or less back to his normal self, there were still a few little things that could turn his mood sour. "He's managing," Harry told her truthfully. "We try not mentioning you around him because he goes quiet and broods for a while when we do. Regardless, he's still Clark. He's checking out Met U to see just how good a deal the football scholarship they offered him is."

Alicia smiled, pleased for her friend, "That's great. Do you think he'll take it?"

Harry nodded, "He has enough control over his powers to be able to play the game properly and with that iron clad black and white morality he holds, he'll keep himself in check."

"I know," she said, full of confidence in Clark's abilities.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry's hour long trip to the Prometheus Lab took four hours by the end of it. He spent almost an hour and a half talking with Alicia in the canteen about whatever came up, just getting to know each other. Harry had to make up some quick lies when they talked about his past and what he wanted to do when he left school but he got through it. Afterwards, Harry mentioned to Doctor Warner that Alicia would consider taking a job there once her tests were done and she was given a more detailed tour than before. She and by association, Harry, had been shown rooms and information that only the staff had access to. She was of course kept away from the magic section of the labs. If she did take the job she wouldn't be given access to that until a few months later and having signed the Secrecy oath document.

Whilst he had only toured the lab superficially before, Harry got a more in-depth look at the lab he was meant to be in charge of. Harry found the tour was far more interesting when someone else of the same age was walking round with you and he paid closer attention. After an evening meal with Alicia and a few other scientists, Harry made his excuses and left, hoping that Chloe and Lois were doing alright in whatever investigation they found themselves in.

He made his way out of the lab in the same manner he entered and dialled Lois' mobile number. Before he could even say 'hi' Lois spoke, "Evans? Where the hell have you been? I've called you like, four times."

Harry winced slightly at how annoyed Lois sounded. The lab didn't get a signal for mobile phones and there would have been no way she'd have gotten through to him, "Sorry Lois, I got caught in something but I'm in the city now. Where can I find you?"

Lois sighed, most likely at him. "Meet me outside the main dorm of Met U. Can you do that or do you need another four hours?" Her sarcasm was impossible to miss.

"See you then Lois," Harry told her sweetly, hanging up the phone before she could get in another sarcastic comment.

Knowing Metropolis relatively well, Harry Apparated to just outside the main dorms. He saw Lois standing on the steps outside looking around impatiently. "Evans, nice of you to finally turn up," Lois said to him with a glare when he approached.

"Again, sorry Lois." Harry looked around, "What are we doing here?"

"There are answers inside here and I plan to get them," Lois told him. She turned and walked into the dorm. Harry just shrugged and walked in after her. He saw Clark in the distance. He stopped at the sound of footsteps and turned around.

"I thought you were going to wait outside?" Clark asked her in exasperation.

"Well you thought wrong Smallville. I want to hear what Geoff knows. Speaking of Geoff…"

The football player that had been showing Clark around walked towards him. His eyes were red and he'd obviously been crying.

"Hey," Clark greeted Geoff. "You've, uh, met my friend Lois." Clark was about to say more when he noticed the state Geoff was in. He looked at him in concern.

"Coach just called. Coop's dead, Clark." His tone was flat and he was obviously greatly affected by the loss.

"Oh my god," Lois whispered, paling dramatically. Now she wasn't under charges of attacking and paralyzing someone, she was under charges of killing someone. Harry placed a hand on her arm, trying to offer what reassurance he could.

"When?" Clark asked, aghast.

"An hour ago. His vitals were getting better, and then the doctor said he just stopped breathing," Geoff told them. Harry caught a glimpse of something in Geoff's mind.

"Look, Geoff, we know Coop was going to the newspaper about something involving the football team," Lois said impatiently. She was just holding herself together.

Geoff looked hard at Lois, but only Harry saw the dark edge behind it. A slightly push into Geoff's mind and a few seconds gave Harry all the information he wanted. Yes, Geoff was shook up about the death of his friend, but there was the added emotion of being shook up for causing the death _and _paralysis of his friend.

Clark interrupted his concentration, "Lois, I don't think this is the best time."

"And when would be the best time, Clark, when I'm on the chain gang?" Lois angrily protested.

Clark turned to Geoff, ignoring Lois, "I'm sorry. She's under a lot of stress lately."

Knowing that ignoring Lois was a bad thing Harry knew he needed to interrupt before things escalated further. His hand was still on Lois arm. He squeezed her arm, gently, but enough to get her attention, "Lois, it's late. How about we deal with this in the morning?" He shot her a look that clearly told her that they needed to get out _now_.

Thankfully, Lois understood. "Yeah." She turned to Geoff, "I'll be back in the morning." Lois shot Clark one last angry and betrayed look before turning on her heels and walking back down the corridor they came from.

Harry turned to Clark, "I'll catch up with you in the morning, yeah?"

"Sure," Clark said with a nod.

Harry turned to Geoff, surveying him careful. In the few seconds eye contact he pulled out a few more titbits of information, "I'm sorry about your friend."

Geoff nodded towards him and Harry turned, walking quickly down the corridor to catch up with Lois. He found her standing on the outside steps, arms crossed, glaring at him, "Can you tell me what the big deal with us getting out of there was? I'm out on bail and looking to be locked up for manslaughter! This is not the time to be doing things in the morning. Geoff obviously knows something and waiting until tomorrow won't exactly help my case!"

Harry waited a moment to make sure Lois had finished her rant, "I thought getting out of there would do you more good in the long run than trying to interview the guy who murdered Dave Cooper."

Lois blinked and shook her head in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"Don't ask me how I know, but Geoff was the one that paralyzed and killed Coop."

Lois looked at him sceptically, "Is this one of your odd hunches again?"

Harry raised his eyebrows, "How often are they wrong?"

Lois frowned, not able to argue with that. "You're sure it's him?"

Harry nodded, a hundred percent sure. "When you mentioned the newspaper the look he gave you was one that said he wished you would die or catch fire. Having been the receiver of that look a few hundred times, I know it when I see it. He's from Smallville so the paralysis thing fits easily under the assumption that he's a GME."

Lois blinked in confusion, "What the hell is GME?"

Harry smiled sheepishly, "Green Meteorite Evolution. I guess I haven't told anyone that yet."

Lois rolled her eyes, "You are such an idiot."

Harry smiled charmingly at her, doing his best to get her mind of the pending manslaughter sentence, "I know."

He cheered internally as he got a small smile from her. It disappeared as quickly as it came but she looked more confident than before. "It sort of makes sense that it was Geoff. I heard from Coop's girlfriend that he was going to go to a newspaper about something relating to the football team and being secretive about it."

"She told you that?" Harry asked. He was surprised that Lois got an interview out of the girlfriend of the guy people thought Lois had paralyzed.

Lois shook her head, looking at him oddly, "Of course not."

Harry caught a glimpse in her eyes and sighed, "You broke into her dorm?"

"Well, what else was I going to do? Just wait? You know how I do with waiting."

Harry smiled fondly at Lois. She was an odd girl.

Harry placed a hand on her shoulder, "Right, well, we'll get something to eat, some sleep and we'll sort this out in the morning. Ok?"

Lois let out a long breath, "You're sure it's Geoff?"

Harry nodded. A thought hit him, "Didn't you come here with Chloe?" He looked around them, even though he knew she wouldn't be there.

"She had a ton of forms to fill out and they were giving her _another_ tour of the place."

Harry laughed, "Girl loves her tours." If he recalled correctly, she had been given the guided tour of Met U three times now. She was just thrilled that she was able to go and even more thrilled that her father would now be able to pay for her education. Only a short while ago she'd been filing out financial aid forms. "Is she staying in your dorm tonight?"

"Nah. She said she was going to meet up with some girl she made friends with during her internship at The Planet last year. Said she'd drop by in the morning."

"Mind if I sleep on your floor then?" Harry asked.

She shrugged, "Sure, no problem. You've slept on it enough." During their nights out when a taxi would be ill advised for travelling for an hour and Apparating would be suspicious he just pretended to rest on Lois' floor. Instead of sleep, something he still didn't do, he'd just Apparate home after casting a spell on Lois to tell him when she woke up. He'd always arrive back at her dorm five minutes later with a coffee and she'd never question him.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday January 29__th__ 2005)_

"So let me run through this again," Chloe said, thinking hard. "You think that Geoff Johns paralyzed his best friend to stop him from spreading the word about his meteor power and when the effects of the paralysis began to wear off, Geoff killed him?"

Harry nodded, "Sounds about right."

"And you know all this from a look Geoff shot Lois after she tried to interrogate him after his friend had just died?"

Harry nodded again, glancing at Lois to see if she was still with him. She nodded, showing that she was.

"Well, your theory is certainly out there," Chloe told them. "Put it lacks _evidence_."

"You mean apart from the dead guy and his roommate from Smallville?"

"Hey," Chloe said, holding up her hands in a show that she meant no harm. "I'm not trying to crush your theory, but you need someone to look at this objectively."

Harry frowned, damning the secrecy laws. Telling people that he knew this because he'd 'read' Geoff's mind would really simplify this madness. "Cuz," Lois said. "I know it seems a bit far-fetched, but you have to agree, whenever Harry gets one of these odd hunches, they usually end up being right."

"You're sure about this?" Chloe asked Lois.

"I am. It fits."

"And you're not just saying this because you want a way out of the charges you're facing?" Chloe asked her, reminding her of the murder charges she was now surely facing.

"I know I'm in a tight situation here, but I'm trusting Harry on this," Lois told her cousin.

Chloe nodded, seemingly convinced. "And Clark doesn't know anything about this?"

"He was with Geoff when I put the pieces together. He can handle himself," Harry told her.

"Besides," Lois added. "Smallville practically worships they guy. There's no way he'd believe that Johns was responsible for this."

Fate it seems has a funny sense of humour. There was a knock on the door and Clark opened it. His expression was one of reluctant determination.

"Hey, Clark. Something wrong?" Lois asked, seeing the look on his face.

"I think Geoff Johns paralyzed Coop," Clark told the room.

Harry couldn't help, he laughed. Mainly at the look of annoyance on Lois' face, after her only saying moments ago that Clark would never believe a story about Geoff paralyzing his friend. Chloe did her best to keep her smile hidden, but her eyes sparkled and her lips turned up slightly. Clark just looked on in confusion.

Harry wiped a small tear from the corner of his eye, "Sorry Clark. You missed the part of the conversation 30 seconds before you arrived where Lois said you would never believe that theory."

Clark blinked a few times, before he realised what he meant, "You already know about Geoff?"

"Harry worked it out last night when he told us about Coop," Lois told Clark.

Clark looked at Harry, slightly offended, "And you didn't tell me?"

Harry held up a hand stopping Lois from commenting. He cleared his throat and looked to an invisible someone just to the left of Clark. In what he considered a fairly accurate impression of Clark, he spoke to the empty space, "I'm sorry. She's under a lot of stress lately." He turned to Clark and raised an eyebrow.

Clark, realising what he'd said and how it reflected in the situation now turned to Lois. "Lois, I'm sorry I said that. I thought you were just being, well…" he trailed off, unsure of what word to use.

"Lois-like?" Lois asked with a smile.

Clark smiled back sheepishly, "Something like that."

"Well, you're forgiven this time."

"Thanks Lois."

"What brought you to your conclusion Clark?" Harry asked from his seat on Lois's bed.

"I heard Geoff talking with this guy. He's been passing his physicals by using another student's urine samples."

"Black market pee? So what? He's trying to cover up drug use?" Lois asked, not seeing the significance of this. Having just learned about this yesterday at Prometheus Labs, Harry spoke up, "He's covering up the fact that he has a meteor power." From what Warner told him, whilst it was subtle, a urine sample from a GME was marginally different and, to those out-of-the-know, would appear that whoever the urine was from was taking drugs.

"That's what I though," Clark said with a nod. "I just saw him touch this kid and he put him straight to the ground like he hit him with a stun gun. And the linebackers, they always say when they get stiff-armed by Geoff Johns, they don't know what hit them."

Harry looked over to Chloe, "And there's your proof."

Chloe nodded, agreeing with him on this point, "Alright. So what do we do now? Do you think the pee peddler might know the truth about Geoff?"

Clark nodded, "Do you think you can track him down?"

Chloe considered it, "I'll see what I can find."

"I'm gonna go to the football dorm. I'm gonna try to find Geoff before he can hurt someone else. Harry, do you want come with me?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded. It would be best if there were two of them there in case when they cornered Geoff he paralyzed one of them. "Alright." He looked over at Chloe, "Call if you find anything."

Chloe nodded and he and Clark left the dorm. "How's Lois handling this?" Clark asked.

"She's strong and holding on. I reckon she'll feel better once we stop this though." Harry stopped just before leaving Lois' dorm. "Meet you there?" Harry asked.

Clark nodded and vanished in a rush of wind at the same time Harry Apparated. They both arrived about the same time. "Do you ever get fed up with just running everywhere?" he asked Clark.

Clark shrugged, "It only takes a second for me, so not really." He pushed open the door to the football dorm and walked in with Harry behind him. Clark walked over to a man sitting at a desk in a security guards uniform. "Um, hi," Clark said to him. "We were looking for Geoff Johns. Is he around?"

The man shook his head, "Sorry Mr. Kent. You just missed him."

Clark looked worried, "Did he say where he was going?"

The man shook his head, "Sorry Mr. Kent."

"Well, thank you."

Clark walked out the dorm. Harry quickly looked into the man's mind but found nothing of Geoff's location. He followed out after Clark, "He didn't know anything."

"You… looked?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded, "Yeah. What was with the 'Mr. Kent' business?"

Clark seemed slight embarrassed, "Everyone here wants me to join up to play football. They've been offering me things left, right and centre and half the people are calling me that."

"The golden arm of Kansas," Harry said. The Golden Arm was Clark's nickname in the football circuit. "It's no surprise they want you."

"Yeah, well. So where do we go now?" Clark asked, eager to change the subject.

Harry shrugged, "Geoff could be miles away by now. I say we head back to Lois' dorm and see if Chloe found who she was looking for. Either that or we go to the Met U and see if he's there instead."

"I think it'd be best for us to see if we can find him now."

"Meet you there?" Harry offered.

Clark nodded and went supersonic. Harry Apparated to a dark area near the Met U entrance where he was sure he wouldn't be seen. Clark was already standing and waiting for him by the front door. They made their way through the university, but no one had seen Geoff around. Empty handed they left the building, only to run into an out of breathe Chloe outside.

"Clark, Harry, I think Geoff has Lois."

"Dammit Lois," Harry muttered, not surprised with the luck she was having the last 24 hours.

"Where?" Clark asked quickly.

"I don't know. But we were in the parking lot and the next I thing I knew, Geoff Johns' car is flying by and Lois is gone."

"Did you see the direction he was heading?" Harry asked.

"No. By the time I realised he'd taken Lois he was gone."

"Dammit," Harry muttered again. Did he need to put tracking charms on everyone he knew?

"If they're in his car there might be a way to track them down," Clark told them.

"What?" Harry asked quickly.

"He got his car from Booster Metropolis Motors. It's got a Trip Star system in it. If we can get the PIN number, we can use you cell phone and computer and maybe hack in and find out where they are."

Well, that definitely beat down his idea of levelling the city around him.

"Okay, that's doable, but then how are we gonna get the PIN? I mean they keep those things under lock and key at the dealership. What are you gonna do, break in and rip open the safe?"

"Of course not," Clark told her.

Knowing that was exactly what Clark planned Harry interfered. "Chloe, head up to Lois' dorm and get everything ready for when we get the pin number. Clark, I've got my bike nearby. I'll get you there and back before you know it."

"Alright, but be quick guys," Chloe told them before heading back to Lois' dorm.

They waited until she was out of sight, "Thanks Harry."

Harry nodded, "Here's the plan. Head to the Booster club, get that PIN number and find Chloe again. Tell her… tell her I paid someone off for the information." He clicked his fingers as he kept planning, "I'll wait out here. When you and Chloe get the location call me and I'll be there in seconds." Harry nodded, his plan seemed pretty good. "That'll keep Chloe from being suspicious. Just… just make sure you leave it about ten minutes before you give her the pin. Lois'll be fine."

"Alright," Clark said. "I'll call you soon." He zipped away and left Harry standing by himself. It was points like this that would make his animagus form incredibly useful, if only he was able to complete the transformation. In his falcon form he was sure he would have been able to spot Geoff's car.

The ten minute wait felt like an hour. He didn't make matters easier by checking his phone every 30 seconds making sure he still had a signal. He also had to do what he could to stop his initial reaction of just running out and trying to find her, relying on nothing else but blind luck like he use to do.

Finally his phone rang. He answered it before it had rung once, "You've got the location?"

"He's at 3rd and Grant," Clark told him.

"I'm right there." That was added for Chloe's benefit. He closed his eyes and though of the location. He knew it well enough to Apparate. With a crack he vanished for the Met U campus and arrived at his destination. He saw a black SUV parked just down from his location. He quickly and quietly made his way towards it.

Geoff moved from a side alley and headed towards the driver side door of the SUV. _'Petrificus totalus,' _Harry silently cast. The invisible spell caught Geoff in the chest mid stride. His legs snapped together and he fell backwards. A cushioning charm stopped the pavement from killing him when his head struck it hard.

Ignoring Geoff for now Harry opened the doors to the SUV. Lois wasn't there. He dropped to one knee beside Geoff. The man looked shocked, confused and utterly terrified. "Where is Lois?" he asked, pulling the relevant information from his mind.

He saw the danger Lois was still in and what Geoff had done. He broke into a run, heading in the direction he knew Lois was. Knowing what was coming he reigned in as much of his lightning powers as he could. He came up against thick barred door. Without stopping his run he vanished the door. Just past where the door was the room was beginning to flood, already reaching enough of a depth to hide a body. He jumped in, hoping his lightning power wouldn't react and fry his friend.

He found Lois completely submerged under the water. Worried he was too late he quickly made it over to her. He absently noticed a small amount of bubbles coming from her mouth as he grabbed her and pulled her into a sitting position. "Lois? Lois? Can you hear me?"

He looked into her eyes and he could see that she was fine. He knew she was paralyzed from whatever Geoff had done to her, but he didn't know how long it would take to wear off.

"Harry," he heard Lois quietly murmur. He laughed in relief that she was fine and coming out.

"You'll be alright Lois. Just take deep breaths." Her eyes were still panicked and despite having been able to say his name, she still couldn't move. He picked her up bridal style and carried her from what minutes ago was her watery tomb. He got her out to where Geoff and his SUV sat. Planning on having a private chat with him later, he cast a notice-me-not charm around the area and walked past with Lois.

He found a spot just on the offside of the road and gently placed her down. "You're still doing alright?" Harry asked. Lois just managed a nod. "Right, since you can't do anything to stop me, I'm calling an ambulance to take you to the hospital to get checked out."

Lois glared at him but it didn't have the fire her glares usually held.

"I want to make sure what he did doesn't have long term damage. Geoff isn't going to hurt anyone anymore."

Lois just managed to nod. Harry pulled out his mobile that still thankfully worked despite having been soaked. He dialled Clark first. "Have you got her?" Clark asked.

"She's alright," Harry told him. He heard Clark's sigh of relief and then passing the message to Chloe. "She was paralyzed by Geoff and he tried drowning her. She seems fine but I'm going to call an ambulance and have her taken to Metropolis General to be checked over. You want to meet her there?"

"We'll be there," Clark told him. There was silence for a few moments before Clark spoke again, this time more quietly. "Harry, what did you do with Geoff?" Clark sounded concerned, but regarding how Harry had dealt with the few GME's he'd come across, Clark's worry was reasonable.

"He's unconscious and when he wakes up, is going to confess everything to the MPD. He's still in once piece Clark."

Clark let out another sigh of relief, "Alright. We're just leaving for Metropolis General now."

"I'll meet you there after my talk with Geoff." He hung up the phone and made the call to 911.

It took four minutes for the ambulance to arrive. Harry explained to the EMT's that Lois had been attacked and was experiencing temporary paralysis but was slowly getting better. Harry opted to stay where he was when he was asked if he wanted to ride with them to the hospital. He waited for the ambulance to exit his line of sight before heading back down to Geoff. He removed the notice-me-not charm and the paralysis of Geoff's head. The man had to be able to talk after all.

Geoff looked at Harry in panic when he turned his head and saw him. Harry smiled at him. The smile said things weren't going to end well for the football player. "Geoff, good to see you again."

"What… what did you do to me?" he asked fearfully.

Harry ducked down to one knee again, "Nothing, if you don't do what I say."

"Anything," Geoff told him, looking around wildly.

"I'm going to release you and then you're going to find the nearest police officer and turn yourself in for murdering Dave Cooper and the attempt on Lois."

"Alright, I'll do it," Geoff told him, tears in his eyes.

Harry smiled softened slightly. He still wanted this man dead for attacking his friends but he could be useful for Prometheus. "I'll make you a deal Geoff. Do this quietly and nicely with no mention of me, and once your convicted, I'll get you some nicer accommodations with a much earlier chance of release. I can do that, but to the rest of the world, Geoff Johns will be dead. Are we agreed?"

Geoff nodded and Harry took a few steps back as to be out of his reach. Harry removed the spell from Geoff, freeing his limbs. He shakily pushed himself to his feet. Harry stood, ready in case Geoff made a break for it or attacked him. "It was never supposed to be like this," Geoff told him.

"You weren't meant to get caught? No, I don't suppose so."

He shook his head, "No. College football was so much more difficult. I barely used my powers in high school, but when I got here, I just couldn't help myself. Everyone wants you to succeed so much that you just can't yet them down." He took a deep breath, "It was like I had no choice but to use them."

Harry nodded, having been in situations like that for his entire life. "Your friend found out what you can do?"

"He said I was a freak and that he'd tell the world how I'd been cheating. I just, I just reacted."

"I can understand that. So you're going to turn yourself in quietly?" Harry asked.

He nodded, "I never meant to get your friend into trouble. When I saw her looking into it, I didn't know what else to do." He paused for a moment, "Can you really get me out of prison?"

"If you make no mention of me, yeah."

"How can you do that?" he asked doubtfully.

"Trust in the fact that I could have killed you and no one would know it was me. You have more use to me alive though. You'll be treated just fine. Now come on."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Geoff turned himself over to the Metropolis Police Department and admitted to the crimes he'd committed. He was taken away in handcuffs. Harry, who had been watching invisible until Geoff was placed in his cell Apparated away, sure that everything was alright. Geoff hadn't mentioned him and had been cooperative. Harry placed a call to Doctor Warner at Prometheus and told him to keep an eye out on a new recruit to their research. Once they had a decent opening to do so, they'd pull Geoff out of where he was and find him restricted quarters in Prometheus. Whilst it wasn't freedom, it would be better than Belle Reve or prison.

Done incarcerating criminals he Disapparated from outside the police department to Metropolis General.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Sunday, January 30__th__, 2005)_

Harry sat at home alone after a very tiring Saturday. Lois had been fine after her innocent with Geoff, especially after a police officer had come to Metropolis General four hours after Geoff confessed and told Lois that she was no longer a suspect in the Dave Cooper death. The paralysis had finally worn off after the fifth hour. By that time, after having received a dozen tests, Lois was in a foul mood. Harry could understand that after everything she'd been through.

She had thanked him profusely for saving her when he did. Harry just shrugged it off.

Having spoken to Clark privately afterwards, Chloe hadn't been suspicious of what happened and Clark had mentioned that their plan had worked a lot better than his usual dash off in order to rescue someone.

Now for Harry, knowing that he could have used his falcon form to help find Lois when she'd been taken was now trying what he could to get the transformation finished soon. Lois had been less than a minute away from being death and out of all the magic he knew; apart from a tracking charm, only his animagus form could have helped.

He sat in his living room with his socks and shoes off, trying to transform his feet into Talon's. So far he'd turned his legs yellow and his nails black, but no changing of shape had happened. He reversed the transformation and tried again. Slowly, his toes turned back, almost appearing to die right in front of his eyes. His feet began to turn yellow. He stopped when his ankles changed colour. He closed his eyes and envisioned a falcon's talons in his mind.

His toes began to feel odd but he kept going with the transformation. Odd was good. Odd meant something new was happening. He felt his toes begin to either join with another or spread out. The feeling in his feet tickled slightly and was rather off putting. After a few seconds of no new sensations he relaxed and looked down at his right foot. He smiled in triumph. Now, instead of a normal human foot was a yellow three clawed talon. The left and right claws were at almost 90 degree angles from the middle claw that was significantly longer than the other two. He was tempted to stand and see if he could walk like that, but decided that it was best not to try.

It didn't quite look like it could support his weight.

It took him around 50 seconds to switch back to his normal foot. Several attempts later and he had the transformation, in both feet, down to around six seconds. He now had the wings and most of the legs done. It was almost halfway. He was about to remove his jeans and try the transformation of his legs when he heard a car pull up outside. He put his belt back on, as well as his socks and boots and went to meet whoever it was at the door.

He was surprised to see Lois having left her in Metropolis a few hours ago. He hadn't expected to see her for a week. "Lois?" He looked at her suspiciously, "What have you done now."

"I haven't done anything this time." Before Harry could argued she continued, "Alright, so I haven't done anything new."

He knew there was going to be quite a story here. "Come in and tell me what you haven't done this time."

"Thanks Evans," Lois said to him sarcastically.

She made her way through to his lounge and dumped herself on his coach. Seeing the open book on the table she reached for it. "The Encyclopedia of Birds?" Lois asked oddly.

Harry shrugged, "I have a lot of books."

"Then why are you reading _this_ one?" Lois asked again.

"I was trying to transform into a bird and I was using that book to decide which one I want to pick," Harry told her seriously. He had wanted to tell her that he'd seen an interesting looking bird outside but he had the feeling that Lois wouldn't have believed that. Instead, telling her what was very close to the truth and make it sound sarcastic would work.

"Yeah, I'm sure you were," Lois muttered, shutting the book and putting it back on the table.

"Dare I ask why you aren't in Metropolis just now?" Harry asked.

"Here's the thing," Lois told him. "After everything that happened yesterday, they kind of punted me out of Met U." She smiled sheepishly at him.

Harry just rolled his eyes and sighed, "Three strikes?" Harry asked, referring back to the conversation they had when Lois received 'strike two' for turning up to class still drunk from the night before.

"Pretty much," Lois conceded.

"Would you go back if they let you?" Harry asked. One thing he learned from the magic world was that large donations to a particular group got you quite a lot of leeway with those that ran the place. If Lois wanted back into Met U, he'd make it happen.

"I don't know," Lois said. "I don't think I was cut out for University life. I mean, the parties were great, but the classes?" Lois winced theatrically to make her point.

Harry laughed, "That sounds about right." His smile dimmed somewhat, "You heading back to see you dad then?"

"Not going to happen. The General's trying out the tough love approach. Told me I'm to stay here until I can make something of myself."

"What's the plan then?"

"I need somewhere to crash for a while until Chloe's dad gets the new house but my plan was to guilt Clark in giving me his room again."

Chloe's father who had recently been employed by MI was waiting a few months before taking out a loan in order to buy a bigger house, after they'd spent almost a year in a small one bedroom flat. It was something that Chloe was especially happy about.

He laughed at the thought of Lois trying to guilt Clark into taking his bed. He had no doubts that she could manage it within less than a minute. The girl still confounded Clark whenever she was in the same room with him. It was like watching a master craftsman at work.

"I've got a spare room here, you know," Harry told her.

"You're offering to let me stay here?" Lois asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, "As long as you keep out of my kitchen, yeah, you can stay here for as long as you need." Whilst Lois hadn't been able to burn water yet, she'd been close a time or two.

Lois smiled brightly "Thanks Harry."

"No problem. And, as you're only a mile away, you can easily nip over to the Kent's just to annoy Clark whenever you want, although, I imagine stealing his room would have been quite enjoyable for you."

"Well," Lois said with a pleased smile. "You know me."

"You say that like it's a good thing," Harry muttered just loud enough for her to hear. She glared at him but he kept speaking before she could comment, "Want to see the room?"

"Yeah, sure," Lois said. They both walked up the stairs and down the hallway to the furthest away room. Harry opened the door and looked around. Everything was in pristine condition and barely touched from when Harry moved in.

"Here you go. This was Lana's room when she lived here. You can change whatever you want in it." He looked around the room, "I decided that leaving one girly room was a good idea and my decorating skills aren't quite enough that I felt safe redecorating here."

"Why have I never seen this room before?" Lois questioned.

Harry shrugged, "Because nobody ever comes upstairs." More often than not when people visited Harry kept them from going upstairs as to avoid having to explain the unopenable door.

"I'll leave you to suss things out." He turned back to the door.

"Harry?" He stopped and turned to Lois, "Thanks. You know, for everything."

Harry smiled at her. "Dinners in an hour." He walked back downstairs.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Next chapter: __**Reincarnation**_

**AN:**_So I've introduced some new OC's and expanded the sights of Metropolis a bit. Let me know what you think. Regarding the poll I've set up, I realise that with this chapter I'm shooting myself in the foot as far as the original pairing went, but those are the breaks. Know that I do have a solid plan for Lana should she be chosen, and I'm solidifying Lois'._


	23. Reincarnation

**AN:** _Major writers block just now, so writing has been slim-pickin's, hence the long update. I really don't want to run out of pre-written material before this story ends. Sigh._

_A few people have been... I think complaining is the right word... about how this story is following too close to canon. That __**will**__change as this story continues. I'm slowly creating Harry's world outside of canon and when he hits Metropolis after Graduation, there will be new plots, stories and.... things... Hope that's enough to satisfy people._

_Thank you to everyone who voted on the poll (that is still open) and who reviewed! My internet has been fixed ten minutes after posting this… so wayhay! _

**Chapter 23 – Reincarnation**

_(Tuesday February 1__st__ 2005)_

It had been only two days since Lois had moved into his house and things, for the most part, were going alright. So far all Lois had done to make a nuisance of herself was change his answering machine message without him noticing. She had tried her best to use up all his hot water, but with his boiler being spelled to remain hot she had so far been unsuccessful. He was glad that his house had two bathrooms though, as her morning showers were nothing short of epic.

It more amused him than anything. In only the two short days his house felt so much livelier than it had.

His only problem was that he had to feign sleep, heading to his bedroom at a time that could be considered normal and staying there, at least for a few hours. This time allowed him to continue to push his animagus ability. In the two days Lois had been living with him he had been able to transform his legs and add some feathers to his chest. He could feel he was getting closer to achieving the full transformation.

Clark had been most thankful when Harry past on the message that he'd saved him from Lois. The thought that Lois had been so close to staying with him and stealing his room had truly scared Clark.

Now, Lois was out, heading back to from Metropolis with all her things to dump them at his. It was past 8pm and she'd been out for hours. Why she'd left this trip so late into the night when she had absolutely nothing to do the next day baffled him, but he just took it as another side of Lois that wasn't _meant _to be understood.

With his shirt off in the lounge he continued his attempts at transforming. The feathers were tricky because as each one came out of his skin it felt as though he was being given an injection. It took a high tolerance for pain, which he had, and an extensive amount of concentration. Another thing he had.

With his eyes shut and his fisted clenched he pushed outward with his magic, forcing more feathers to grow. Trying to keep his mind off the pain he wondered how painful this would be if he had taken the second animagus potion that he had been offered when he bought the one that revealed his form. He had been told that the second potion would force the transformation after being ingested. Whilst he could imagine the pain that would follow from having hundreds of feathers brought out from your torso in seconds, it was not something he'd want to experience.

The pain stopped and he opened his eyes. He stared in complete shock at what he saw. Whilst his chest and back were now completely covered in feathers, his arms were gone. Just gone. Panic hit him first and he looked around him wildly, checking the ground around him to try find his arms. They weren't anywhere. He took a few deep breaths, centring himself.

'_Think rationally Harry,'_ he told himself. _'You completed the body transformance and now you have no arms. Think… think… When you first started transforming you though your arms would become wings; they didn't. That means the arms have no use in the transformation so it's likely that they've joined with your body.'_

With that rational though in mind he reversed his transformation, ignoring the pain and pushing as hard as he could. A silent scream passed his lips. It took thirty seconds but the feathers eventually disappeared, leaving his arms right back to where they belonged, complete with lightly bleeding nail marks in his palms from where he had clenched his fists during the initial transformation.

He collapsed backwards on his couch and let out a loud sight of relief. "Thank Merlin for that," he muttered. He controlled his breathing, trying to slow his racing heart down.

After a few minutes he calmed down enough. He pulled his t-shirt back on. He lit the fireplace and just sat in front of it. He now had the 'easy' parts of the transformation down now. The next logical step would be to try and transform his head, however, the book he was learning from made special note that the only time the full head transformation should be done was with the complete transformation. From now on, he was ready to try transform fully. He suspected that would take a while. It was said in his book that this part shouldn't be tried by anyone without a knowledgeable wizard to oversee it.

He chose to ignore that part.

Lois's car pulled up outside. He met her outside to help her take in whatever boxes and stuff she had. He stood on his front porch and looked at the scene below him in confusion.

Lois was ushering a limping dog out the backseat of her car. He blinked a few times before deciding to see what trouble Lois had gotten herself into now. Without looking away from Lois, he waved a hand and slammed the front door shut. He smiled slightly as Lois jumped, startled. "I didn't know you had a dog Lois," Harry asked oddly as he made her way towards her.

"Funny story," Lois said.

"Oh Lois," Harry muttered.

"It's not that bad," she protested. Harry looked at her doubtfully. "Well, maybe it is, but everything's fine! I swear."

"So explain the dog to me then." His opinion on dogs was mixed. Whilst he had loved Padfoot, that dog was technically a man disguised as a dog. The only other dogs he had come across where those that he had been attacked by at the request of Marge Dursleys.

"Well, here's the thing. I kind of… hit him."

"What?" Harry asked, confused. His mind was playing two different scenarios. Both were likely to have happened. It was the resolution to those scenarios that confused him.

"I sort of hit him with my car," Lois told him in embarrassment.

A dozen questions ran through his mind. He looked at the golden retriever that was sniffing around outside his house. It looked perfectly fine.

"What speed did you hit at it?" Harry asked in confusion.

"About 40 miles per hour," Lois told him guiltily.

Harry looked back to the dog that was now lying down and watching him and Lois curiously; too curiously if Harry were to guess. "Er, Lois take your things inside and I'll have a look over the dog and see if I can make sure it's ok."

"Yeah, sure," Lois said, pulling out a few boxes of things and bringing them inside.

Harry moved over to the dog and dropped to one knee. "Here boy," he called to the dog. It stood up and moved over to him. It reached him and sat. Harry reached forward, stroking the dogs fur and casting numerous charms to make check for magic or, heaven forbid, an animagus. He couldn't think _how_ a dog could be hit at 40mph and be fine.

His scans came back negative. He looked at the dog in confusion. It tilted its head to the side curiously. "What is your secret?" he asked quietly. The dog moved to lick his hand. "Why didn't Lois' car kill you?" The dog whined and nudged his hand. Despite how odd the thought was, it was like the dog was trying to talk to him. Lois came back out. "Did you take him to the vet?" he asked as she drew near.

"No. I was going to after I got back here, but he seems perfectly find. Did you find anything wrong with him?"

"No oddly enough. There's not even mark. Are you _sure_ you hit him?"

"Yeah Evans, I'm sure," Lois told him. "If the almost unconscious dog I picked up wasn't that much of a clue, the mark in my bumper sure as hell is."

Harry glanced at her car and sure enough, there was a minor indentation. He glanced down at the dog, "You are something else."

"Yeah, so, what do we do with the little guy?" Lois asked. She sneezed.

"Bless you," Harry said to her, thinking what to do. He quite honestly didn't want to look after a dog, especially knowing that once he started to do actual work at MI he'd be away from here a lot. One suggestion came to mind, "We could see if the Kent's don't mind looking after him until we can find who his owner is." He looked to Lois oddly, "Do you even know if this dog is a boy or did you just guess?"

"Seems like a boy dog to me," Lois told him.

Harry rolled his eyes and looked back down to the strange dog, "How would you like to meet a friend of ours?" he asked. He was curious to see if the dog was as smart as it initially seemed.

The dog barked once, sounding its agreement. Harry and Lois looked at each other oddly.

**OoOoOoOoO**

A quick trip down the road found Harry, Lois and the dog at the Kent farm. Clark exited his barn at hearing the car coming near his house. "Harry, Lois," Clark greeted them as they got out of the car. Lois opened the back door and the golden retriever bounced out and looked around curiously. "Who's dog?"

"I imagine it belongs with Lois now as she was the one that hit it," Harry told Clark before Lois could speak.

Clark turned to Lois in surprise and confusion, "You hit him? With your car?"

"No Smallville," Lois told him sarcastically. "With my fist."

A memory of a night out in Metropolis was brought to the forefront of Harry's mind and he laughed. "What?" Clark asked in confusion.

Harry looked over to Lois, "Can I tell him?"

"Tell him what?" Lois asked confused.

Harry turned back to Clark, "There was this moment about two, maybe three weeks before Christmas where Lois and I had been out drinking. I was escorting Lois back to her dorm because by this point, she no longer had the ability to stand, let alone walk."

He got a small smug smile from Clark. Lois, who seemed to have remembered what he was talking about now, protested, "You said you wouldn't talk about this." She glared at him.

"You must have imagined it," Harry told Lois absently before turning to Clark again. "We came across this big brown cat. Lois here," he pointed towards her. "Lois thinks the cat looks shifty and tells me so. She then told the cat to shoo. It didn't move. She told it to shoo louder and when it didn't she tried to kick it. She missed by about 2ft." He glanced at Lois to finish the story, "And ended flat on her ass."

The glare Lois was shooting him was almost deadly. The smile on Clark's face clearly said that he would remind her of this at every opportunity. "Really?" Clark asked Lois his smile not dimming even slightly. "There was a suspicious looking cat?"

Lois shifted her glare to Clark, "How about we deal with this dog instead of listening to made up stories?"

Harry and Clark shared a smile. Harry turned back to Lois, "Sorry Lois. How about you ask Mr. and Mrs. Kent what we discussed and I'll fill Clark in?" He turned to Clark, "That's alright, yeah?"

"Sure. Lois, mom and dad should be in the kitchen."

She glared at them both one last time before turning to the golden retriever. "Come on boy!" she called. The dog followed dutifully.

"She really tried to kick a suspicious looking cat?" Clark asked as soon as she was out of earshot. He still looked smug.

Harry nodded, "Was one of the funniest things I've ever seen, which included the scene after when she accused the cat of tripping her up."

Clark laughed and looked towards his house, "So what did you want to talk about without Lois around?"

"When Lois hit that dog she was travelling about 40mph. When she reached my place 10 minutes later the dog was completely fine."

"It wasn't hurt?" Clark asked.

"I think it limped when it got out of her car, but in minutes it was completely fine. I thought I'd give you a heads up. I think we have the first meteor infected dog here."

"You want the dog to stay here?" Clark asked after a moment's silence.

Harry nodded, "If that's not too much of a problem. You've got a lot of land here."

"No, that's fine. It actually might be fun to have a dog around."

Harry smiled, "With Lois staying at mine, I don't think I could handle another tenant."

Clark looked at him in sympathy, "How are things going with her?"

"Things are fine. I have two bathrooms, a spare room on the other side of the house that she stays in and an infinite supply of hot water. I've survived worse than Lois Lane."

"Well, it's your funeral. Come on, we can see what Lois has told my parents."

They walked back into the house. "I think you need to make some fliers in the morning. That way, maybe we can figure out who he belongs to. He's got a collar. I'm sure somebody's missing him," Mr. Kent told Lois as they opened the door.

"Fine with me," Lois told him. She sneezed. A bright smile lit up Clark's face as he quickly realised she was allergic to the dog. The dog certainly had the support of Clark now. Anything to keep Lois away from the house was fine with him.

He smiled at Lois, clearly showing that he knew she was allergic, ducked down and scratched the dogs face, "Do you think we can keep him?" he asked his parents.

"Why don't we just see what happens tomorrow, Clark?" Mr. Kent said noncommittally.

"Sure," Clark said. The dog whined and Clark scratched the dogs face again, much to its delight.

"Yeah, don't get too attached," Lois told him "I'm going to bed. You coming Harry?"

He nodded, and turned to the Kent's, "Thank you for doing this."

Mrs. Kent smiled, "It's not a problem Harry."

"Still, thank you."

"Goodnight," he told the Kent's. "I'll come round tomorrow with those fliers."

Goodnights were exchanged and Harry and Lois left.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The following morning Harry brought the _'Found dog' _fliers across to the Kent farm. With Clark's superspeed they could be distributed across town quickly and easily. Lois had insisted on tagging along. He had apparently ran out of coffee and she needed to get her morning fix…

They met Clark outside who was finishing his morning chores before school started, the golden retriever following him. Harry had the day to himself, well, he had the day around Lois. Lois barely spared Clark a 'hello' before she walked straight into the Kent house, looking for coffee.

Clark looked at Harry oddly in regards to Lois. "I'm out of coffee," Harry told him dryly. The golden retriever bounded over to Harry. He ducked down and scratched its coat.

Clark rolled his eyes, fully knowing about Lois's addiction. "You made the fliers?" Clark asked.

Harry indicated to the black folder he had in his left hand. He'd made them last night after returning home and Lois had gone to bed.

"How's he doing?" Harry asked, glancing at the dog.

"He's fine," Clark said fondly. "Doesn't like being tied up though. He always seems to be able find his way free. I've given up for now."

"So there's been nothing excessively weird then? The dog hasn't flown or anything?"

Clark shook his head, "Not that I've seen."

They both looked up as Chloe's red VW Beetle pulled onto the property. The car pulled up to them and she stepped out. The golden retriever, excited by the arrival of someone new ran towards her. Chloe instantly dropped to a crouch as the dog approached, "Hi!" she giggled happily. She hugged the dog for a second before stroking his back. She looked up at Harry and Clark, "Who's the puppy?"

"Lois' latest victim," Harry told her.

Chloe looked at him oddly, "She attacked the dog?" Clark smiled in amusement, remembering the story of the suspicious looking cat.

Harry nodded, "With her car."

Chloe looked horrified, "She ran it over? It seems fine."

Harry shrugged. "We're in Smallville," he explained as though it explained everything.

Clark rolled his eyes, "Lois found the dog. We don't know his name."

Chloe looked to Harry, "She's bringing home strays now?"

"And here I thought it was just me doing that," Harry muttered. Chloe smiled in amusement. "Sort of. The Kent's have taken the dog for now until we find out who owns it."

She turned to Harry. "So, how are you handling her staying with you?" Chloe asked.

Harry's lip turned up in a small smile, "It's been fine. I haven't had the desire to smother her in her sleep, so it's a few notches better than the reception she'd have gotten here."

"I don't want to smother Lois," Clark protested. He smiled in amusement, "I wouldn't mind duct-taping her mouth shut at times though."

"What's she doing here anyway? She asked me to bring over some of her mail but I saw her car down here."

"I ran out of coffee," Harry told her dryly.

Chloe laughed loudly, "Of all the heinous crimes."

"It's hardly my fault if I'm not an addict."

"Well, Lois is so you'll just have to make sure you're stocked up at all times or you'll have a rebellious teenager on your hands." Harry shot her an annoyed look that did nothing to low her levels of amusement. "I'm going to give Lois her mail." She turned to Clark, "You want a lift to school?"

"I'll drive. I've only got a half day," Clark told her.

"Right, of course you do," Chloe said. "I'll go see Lois." She walked towards the house. The golden retriever, now away from the ministrations of Chloe wanted more attention. He butted Harry's leg. He ducked back down and stroked the dog.

"Come on," Clark told Harry. "I need to make sure Lois hasn't eaten everything in the kitchen."

"You should be alright. She's already done that in one house this morning," Harry said with a laugh. "She ate my breakfast before I got to it."

"So you're really alright with her staying with you?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded, "That house is too big for just me. Should be fine with her there."

"Well, thanks again for taking her. I really didn't want to give her my room again."

Harry let out a bark like laugh, "Just remember you owe me one."

Clark nodded with a smile. He brought them over to one of the Kent's tractors. Grabbing a piece of chain he tied the dog to the front bumper. "We'll see if this'll hold you," Clark told the golden retriever. He patted it on the head. "Good boy." They headed towards the house again.

The dog began barking insistently, not pleased with its situation. "Stay," Clark ordered to the dog. The golden retriever continued barking as Clark opened the Kent's front door to where Lois and Chloe were seated at the table.

An ominous rumbling came from outside causing Harry to turn quickly back outside. Clark joined him a few seconds later with just enough time to see the golden retriever, still attached to the tractor, pulling it towards the house. The chain was tight and the wheels weren't moving.

The dog was actually dragging the tractor.

"Holy," Clark muttered.

"Merlin," Harry finished.

The tractor had crashed through the fence around the Kent's and the dog sat in the centre on the grass just outside the house. It looked up at Clark so innocently that Harry couldn't help but laugh. Clark ran down to the dog. "Hey," he said to the dog. "Looks like you really have got a secret too." He scratched the dog under the chin and laughed. "Where are you from?" Clark asked quietly. The dog whined in reply.

"It's safe to say there's something weird with this dog," Harry muttered to Clark as the girls came outside.

"What did you do?" Lois asked Clark immediately, blaming him for this. Clark stood up quickly and looked guilty.

"The tractor rolled," Harry told her as it looked like Clark was struggling for an excuse. How someone who had hidden superpowers all his life from people couldn't lie with ease baffled him.

"Through a fence?" Lois asked sceptically.

"The fence is hardly made of reinforced steel Lois," Harry told her with an obvious roll of his eyes. "It's made of _wood._"

"I know what it's made of it Harry," Lois pointed out as she and her cousin walked down to the tractor.

"Not 'Evans?'" Harry asked. "Aren't I usually 'Evans' when I prove you wrong?"

Lois glared at him, "You didn't prove me wrong. You just pointed out that a _fence_ is made from _wood_."

"After you were surprised that a tractor could roll through it," Harry pointed out. He'd done a spectacular job of taking both Lois and Chloe's mind off the tractor incident.

"Whilst you children argue," Chloe said, cutting off Lois before she could continue her bickering with Harry. "I really need to get to school. I'll see you guys around."

"Bye," Lois said to her cousin. Harry gave her a small wave. Clark continued to play with the golden retriever. Lois looked at Clark oddly.

Clark noticed the look quickly, "Just playing with Skippy here."

"We're not gonna call him Skippy," Lois protested.

Harry snorted from his position beside the tractor. "What?" Lois asked, annoyed.

He eyed her for a second before he allowed his sight to drift to Clark. "I was just wondering how long you and Clark have been dating," Harry casually told her.

"What?!" they both shouted.

"I'm not dating Smallville," Lois protested.

"Me dating Lois?" Clark asked at the same time, his voice doubtful.

"You're discussing what to name your dog. Now, you're not living together or related, so I'm going to assume your dating and just haven't told me."

"Smallville and I are not dating," Lois told him.

"Then why are you trying to name his perhaps future dog?" Harry asked curiously.

"I found him," Lois pointed out.

"You ran him over. If anything, the dog should have a restraining order against you," Harry told her with a smile.

"Well he likes me so I can do what I want." She patted her legs, looking down at the dog, "Come here boy! Come here!" The golden retriever ran over to her. "See?" Lois looked quite smug. She sneezed.

"Alright Lois, what would you like to call him?" Clark asked curiously, not looking as though he wanted an answer from her.

"Let's see. He's annoying, and I can't seem to get within ten feet of him without getting sick... I think we should call him Clarkie."

Clark looked decidedly unhappy about the name. Harry just rolled his eyes, barely hiding a smile. He had a name suggestion, but he'd keep it to himself.

"Oh, I found one of those microchip ID tags under his skin. I think they can scan it at the animal shelter," Clark told Harry and Lois. Harry raised an eyebrow; that was news to him.

"You sure?" Harry asked.

"It's just under his skin," Clark said, rubbing the dog in a spot on its right side.

"Alright, we'll take him to the vets then and see what they can find."

"Would you mind waiting until I got back from school before you take him in?" Clark asked.

Harry glanced to Lois who didn't seem to care, "Yeah, alright Clark." He was impressed at how quickly Clark had gotten attached to the dog. He hoped Clark wouldn't have to give the dog back to however owned it, although that seemed unlikely.

"Ok, well, I need to finish my chores before school. I'll give you a call when classes finish." Harry nodded. "Come on Skippy," Clark called. The golden retriever trotted after him.

"You are not calling him Skippy!" Lois shouted at him.

"Yeah," Harry said slowly to Lois. "He's not listening to you."

"Well I'm going back to the house. You coming?" Lois asked.

"Sure. If I've got the morning to my self I've got some things I need to do."

"Oh, anything interesting?" Lois asked.

"Banking stuff," Harry told her.

"Well, that's a no then."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Once home Harry had driven his bike just out of the Smallville town limits and hid it before Apparating just outside Marauder Tower. In his disguise of Alexander Black he made his way through the building and up to the top floor. He made his way to Zeke's office. He knocked on the door to his assistant's office. "Come in," he heard Michelle call. She smiled when she saw who was there. "Mr. Black, you're to see Mr. Griffis."

"I am Michelle. Is he in?" Harry asked politely. Zeke's blonde assistant had been a good choice by the man. She seemed quite pleasant. She was a cousin of one of Zeke's friends if he remembered correctly, as well as a squib.

"He has board meeting in ten minutes," Michelle told him without missing a beat.

Harry nodded, "I'll probably only need a minute of his time."

She nodded towards the door to her left, "Just go in then."

"Thank you Michelle." He didn't feel the electrical switch on this door like he did on his so he resorted to the old fashioned method of just pushing the doors open. "Yes Michelle?" Zeke asked without turning around. He sitting at his desk flicking through some files in quick succession.

"Hey Zeke," Harry greeted.

Zeke looked up, "Alex. No offence but I'm meeting the board of directors in a few minutes and I've not got much time." He placed all the folders on his desk into a black leather briefcase and snapped it shut.

"Hopefully I'll be taking up less of your time in the future," Harry told, not taking offence at all. He understood that this man had a lot to do. Zeke looked at him curiously. "I need the assistant's applications. It's time to choose one I think."

Zeke smiled, obviously pleased. "Good to hear. Michelle's got them, so just ask her. Now, excuse me, but I have a meeting." Zeke turned and left his office leaving Harry alone. He stole a quick glance around the office before he left. He smiled slightly. Whilst it shape and size it was almost exactly the same as his – minus the door to the lift behind him – it was in the colours he'd asked for; blues, greys and silvers. It looked good, but he had to admit, he liked his more.

He left the office and found Michelle racking through a filing cabinet. "I'll be with you in just a second Mr. Black."

Harry closed the doors to Zeke's office and waited. He'd told Michelle on past visits not to call him Mr. Black, but she was one of those people that would always refer to those in charge with 'mister.' His assistant wasn't going to do that.

It only took a few more seconds before Michelle found what she was looking for. She handed him a large folder that held the résumés of ten individuals Zeke, or someone else perhaps, had picked out for him to choose from. The folder was thick and heavy.

"Mr. Griffis made mention that you return them to me when your done. Once you've picked out who you're looking for from the list I'll make sure it gets filed."

"Thanks Michelle."

**OoOoOoOoO**

After receiving the files Harry had headed down to the third floor where there was a reasonable sized canteen. Lois had eaten his breakfast, or more accurately, he had given her his, and now he was hungry. With a cooked breakfast that, whilst good, was nothing next to what he got at O'Malley's he read the files. Like the Hogwarts food he had grown so use to, this just seemed… industrialised.

He spent an hour flickering through the files, reading about the ten individuals aged from 25 to 62. No matter what he read, no matter how he squinted his eyes or tilted his head, their résumés didn't interest him. Sure, they'd likely be good at their jobs, but if he was going to have an assistant, he wanted someone that interested him. He knew people that filled this role in his day to day life that would be fine for the job, but without having to go through a long arduous process of getting them permission to know of the magical world, he had to choose someone who was a squib.

He wanted someone close to his own age at the very least so he discarded the six résumés of those over 30. He was flicking through the four files he had left, close to resorting to using eeny, meeny, miny, moe to pick. He started the nursery rhyme silently in his head looking over the four spread out files.

"You mind if I sit here?" a female voice that he recognised asked. He stopped his childish rhyme on 'toe' and looked up.

"Miss O'Neil, please sit," Harry said. He had to remind himself that whilst Harry chatted with Jenny, in this disguise he hadn't really spoken with her.

"Thanks," she said as she sat down. She had a plate of toast and some orange juice. "I hate eating alone, oh, and call me Jenny, Mr. Black."

"It's Alex," Harry told her with a smile. "It was probably a good thing you sat down anyway. I was in the middle of being childish when I should be doing this properly."

She glanced at the files as she buttered her toast, "What are they?"

"Résumés for a reasonably important job. I have ten people to choose from and none of them stand out. I'd resorted to using a nursery rhyme before you spoke. I was half way through it actually." Harry smiled sheepishly at her. He really shouldn't have been picking his assistant that way.

"Eeny, meeny, miny, moe?" Jenny asked with an amused smile. Harry nodded again. "My sister use to love that one. She used it all the time to make some of her most important decisions." The smile on her face said she was very proud of her sisters. "It did her well."

"How old is she?" Harry asked. He knew these answers already, but she had told Harry these things, not Alex.

"She's sixteen now. I look after her at home," Jenny told him. Again, Harry knew this. Both girls had been thrown from their homes for reasons he hadn't asked. His experience with the Dursleys taught him that if other people had uncomfortable home lives, they most likely would rather talk about anything else. "So why can't you just find some other people for the job?" Harry was sure she was changing the subject.

Harry didn't answer for a second. "Each person has a… special attribute that's needed. This is the last that I have."

"Oh?" Jenny asked.

Harry waved it off. There was no way he could work around saying that whoever he picked needed to be a squib. "Well, I've got to pick one of these people or Zeke will have my ass, but I swear to Merlin, I can't see myself doing this without using that nursery rhyme."

He glanced up at Jenny who hadn't said anything. She was looking at him oddly. "Jenny?" Harry asked.

"You swear to _Merlin_?" she asked, still looking at him oddly.

Harry waved it off as he'd done numerous times. Most people looked at him oddly when he said it, but now most people he knew in Smallville were acclimatized to it. He was doing his best to stop using it, but after having used it so often in the magic world, it was a difficult habit to break out of. "I went to this odd boarding school back in Britain. It was just something that was said there that's carried over into my vocabulary and not vanished yet."

There was another moment's silence. "Hogwarts?" Jenny asked hesitantly.

On first instinct he cast a very subtle notice-me-not charm around the table. He looked at Jenny for a second. "You've heard of Hogwarts?" he asked slowly.

She nodded, "I have a cousin who went there a few years ago. I swap letters with her every now and then."

"Of course you do," Harry muttered to himself too quiet for her to hear. "I know I'll regret asking this," Harry said. He took a deep breath. "But who is your cousin?" With his luck he'd know the person. He awaited the inevitable.

"Her name's Katie Bell. She might have just started when you graduated." His current look said that he was about 25 or 26. Katie was in fact a year ahead of him and a chaser on the Gryffindor Quidditch team.

"Your cousin is Katie Bell?" Harry asked in disbelief. How did things like this keep happening to him?! He looked at her closely and could now see a very small resemblance; the eyes were the same. He knew Katie quite well; hell, she had stood a few feet behind him when he'd challenged Voldemort to their final duel.

"You know her?" Jenny asked in surprise.

"I remember her from school. So you're a witch then?" Harry asked.

"I'm… what is it called in Britain, a squib?" she asked. He nodded. He couldn't remember what a squib was called here but with them not using 'muggle' it was going to be different.

"So you keep in contact with Katie?" Harry asked. He hadn't heard anything from his friends in Britain since his escape. It had been one of things that frequently bothered him.

"I get a letter about once a month from her. One should arrive in a few days actually."

"And she's doing alright?" Harry asked, curious.

"Well, have you heard about the war that only ended last year that was going on in Britain?" she asked.

Harry nodded, "I heard that it was finish by some kid, but nothing afterwards."

"Well, she was fighting in the Resistance against the terrorist that was attacking them. She was even there in the duel that won it for the Resistance." She sounded quite proud that her cousin had done this.

"She's back in Hogwarts just now though. Apparently, after Harry Potter, the kid who beat their terrorist, won, he vanished and started a goblin rebellion, so whilst the goblins rebuild the government there how they like, she's staying at her old school."

"They're not fighting?" Harry asked. He was aware of the hair-trigger he was leaving his friends on when he left and incited a rebellion, but he didn't have much of a choice. He knew they were in Neville's hands and he'd steer them right.

"No. She told me that they'd fought their fight and goblins are trying to avoid bloodshed. There are only a few groups still fighting but the Resistance group she was part of see this as favourable. And, I told her that a lot of magic users come over here, so she has a place to come to if she needs it."

"That was nice of you to offer her," Harry said. He glanced down at the four files on his table. He glanced back up at Jenny and back down at the files. Mind made up he tidied up the files and put them back in the folder. "What time do you start work?" Harry asked.

She glanced at thin rectangular watch on her left arm. How she could read the time on that, he didn't know. "I've got two minutes before I have to leave from here."

He leaned back in his chair and looked at her carefully. A light legilimancy probe scanned her mind. Whilst he already liked the girl, his scan proved that he could rely on her. "How would you like a job?" Harry asked.

She gave him another odd look. "I have a job," she pointed out.

Harry tapped the folder on the table, "How would you like _this_ job?"

She eyed him suspiciously. "And the job is?"

"Executive Assistant to Mr. Marauder," Harry told her. "He's been pestering Zeke recently and whilst his public appearance isn't coming out for a while, he needs someone here that isn't the CEO when he has his questions and requests."

"You're offering _me_ that job?" Jenny asked. "What makes you think I'm remotely qualified for that?"

"I'm a good judge of character," Harry told her. He had seen her file, only out of curiosity when he got to know her and he had spent enough time talking with her during his visits to his training area to know her. She had received excellent grades during high school but had never attended college. The fact that Katie Bell was friends with her... well, she had good references.

She was silent for a while and Harry could tell she was considering it. "What does the job entail?" she asked.

Harry though about exactly what he needed from an assistant, "You'd need to know this place well and be able to find out whatever odd information he asks of you. For a few months that should be all you'll really have to do. When he turns up you'd need to answer his calls, keep his appointments, mind his calendar, all sorts of things like that."

"What about hours?" she asked.

"Normal hours here but you'd need to keep a phone on in case something came up last minute, as tends to happen with him."

"He's difficult?" she asked.

Harry laughed, "You'll get on fine with him, trust me on that. He's just, odd."

"Wage?"

"What are you on now?" Harry asked, not having a clue.

"$15 dollars an hour," she told him. Harry worked out that that was around $30,000 dollars a year.

"Well, works days will likely be odd. Whilst you'll have your days off you'll need to be on call most of the time. I'd say $40 dollars an hour." With tax, her yearly earnings would be near $100,000 dollars.

"$100,000?" Jenny asked in a whisper, having calculated her yearly earnings quickly. "I'm not qualified for that."

"You'll have a few months to learn from the other executive assistants and the Boss shouldn't be throwing anything too hard at you. You'll do fine."

"Do I get to meet him first?" she asked.

Harry shook his head, "Once you've accepted the job and signed the Standard Secrets contract that a few members of staff are on you'll get to meet him. Trust me when I say he's a nice man."

"Can I have time to think about this?" she asked. "I, I need to speak with my sister first. If I'm spending more time here I need to run this past her."

Harry nodded, "That's fine. The Boss knows how much family means and he'll do what he can to make sure your sister isn't inconvenienced if you take the job. You've got the morning off. Go to her school or call her, but I would like a decision soon."

"I, thank you Mr. Black," she stood up. "Thank you for the offer."

"It's still Alex, and if you have common sense, you'll call the Boss by his first name too," Harry told her with a smile.

"I'll be back soon," she told him. Harry nodded and she left. He pulled out his phone and dialled the reception through the building.

"Marauder Industries, how can I help?" a female voice answered.

"This is Special Advisor to the CEO, Alexander Black. Who am I speaking to?" Harry asked.

"Gillian Riley, sir," the voice answered quickly.

"Gillian, Jennifer O'Neil won't be in this morning. She may be in during the afternoon, but please tell your supervisor not to expect her. She should be passing by the Reception area in a minute or two."

"I'll passage the message along, sir."

"Thank you Gillian. If you see her come back into the building, please pass a call through to my office and tell her to come up."

"Yes sir."

Harry hung up the phone.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry had moved up to his penthouse and spent the next two hours alternating between trying his full animagus transformation and staring from the large windows in the penthouse, out onto the street below. He could feel he was getting close to the complete transformation.

In the times when the frustration got too much from failing to transform he transformed his wings back and forth. Whilst they were still pretty much useless, they looked very cool. He could now walk and run with the wings brought out, although they needed to be folded tightly. His proudest achievement with them had been being able to transform without destroying his shirt. Now, the small area's on his back where the wings protruded transformed small parts of his shirt as well; this was more proof that he was getting close to the complete transformation.

He glanced at his watch. It was now 10am. Clark finished school for the day at 12:30pm so his hope was that he'd be done by then. A phone rang from behind him. He looked at it oddly, wondering _why_ it was ringing before realising that the call was probably from reception and being forwarded up.

"Alexander Black," he answered as he picked up the phone.

"Mr. Black, this is Gillian from reception. You asked me to call you when Jenny O'Neil came back into the building."

"She's here?" Harry asked.

"Yes sir."

"Thank you again Gillian."

He hung up the phone headed back downstairs. He stood waiting in the hallway outside his assistant's office door. He waited for a few minutes as she made her way up to top floor. He did hope she took this job. He really didn't want to chose from the selection he'd been given.

He heard the quiet ping the elevators made as the doors opened. A minute later he saw Jenny walking towards him. She still looked nervous. He smiled warmly at her. "How did the talk with your sister go?" he asked.

She smiled slightly, "She wasn't too happy I got her pulled out of class."

"I had a friend like that," Harry told her.

"I have some more questions though," Jenny told him.

Harry nodded, "Of course." He placed his hand on the handle of the door behind him. "We'll take a seat in here and you can ask what you want." He opened the door to his assistant's office and stepped in. "Take a seat," Harry told her, pointing out the leather chair behind the desk.

"If I took the job, this would be my office?" she asked, looking around, impressed.

"I'm sorry about the lack of a window, but I didn't design this place. We could probably work something out with magic if you wanted though."

Harry placed a hand behind his back and conjured a wooden stick that looked like a wand. He brought it out and conjured a chair for him to sit on. He sat, twirling the fake wand between his fingers. "So, ask away."

She took a deep breath. "I really don't want to ask this one, but my sister insisted. Does your boss just want to hire me because I'm attractive and he wants to use me for sex?"

Harry stared at her open mouthed for a good twenty seconds. She looked horribly embarrassed and his silence wasn't helping any. He got over his shock slowly and laughed, "I assure you that's not the reason. The boss already has eyes for probably the most unavailable girl in the world and what your sister wanted you to ask has nothing to do with why I'm interested in hiring you." He paused, "Your sister knows about magic?"

"She's like me; knows about it but doesn't have any." Harry nodded and waved a hand for her to continue. "You said a special attribute was needed for who you hire. That was knowledge of magic wasn't it?"

"Myself, Zeke and the boss are wizards so a lot would need to be hidden from whoever was picked if they didn't know about magic," Harry told her.

"What about medical insurance? Dental?" Jenny asked.

"Fully covered," Harry told her. "For you, and for your sister." He didn't know if that was true at this point in time, but he'd make sure it was.

"And my sister?" she asked, her eyebrows rising upwards.

"The Boss knows that you look after your sister and that endeared you to him. A family that look after each other is something he feels strongly about." He leaned back in his chair, "What did your sister think about you taking this job?"

She laughed fondly, "She said that as long as he won't be using me for sex then I'd be insane not to take this job and that if I refused on her account she'd beat me to death with a skillet."

Harry grinned widely, "She sounds like an interesting girl. So will you take this job?"

She closed her eyes and took another deep breath. She opened her eyes and held out her hand, "I accept."

Harry smiled widely, "Excellent. Now, open the top left drawer. You're contract should be in there along with a black quill."

"A quill?" she asked in near disbelief. Quills hadn't been used in America in decades.

"A special, although unpleasant one. Now, you'll probably want a lawyer to help you with this as signing it creates a binding magical contract that prevents you from giving certain details away. Most people have wanted help going over this first."

She pulled out the contract and quill. "I think I should manage easily enough to understand it. I've had to look over a few things like this before when dealing after I had to leave home."

Harry nodded and sat in silence whilst she slowly read the contract. Basically, it prevented her from giving away company secrets as well as giving away information on himself. If she tried to speak with anyone that wasn't in the know about particular details, she wouldn't be able to. Pushing it further would result in a coughing fit. Zeke had had this contact created for Project Prometheus but it was wide spread enough that it could be used on normal staff.

She carefully read through it three times before she seemed satisfied. She picked up the quill. "You have ink?" she asked.

"The quill doesn't use any. Let me explain about it. It's called a blood quill and instead of ink it writes directly using your blood." She did not look pleased about that. "It will cut what you write onto the back of your left hand and fade almost instantly. Blood is needed to seal the contract."

She took a long look at the quill before putting it to paper. She hesitated a moment and then signed her name quickly. As soon a quill left the page the contract shone blue for a moment and she winced and grasped her hand. She rubbed the spot where her signature had just appeared and vanished from.

"That's it done?" she asked, stilling rubbing her hand. Harry could see the red mark on it from the vanished cut and knew from experience that it would sting for a while. He reached forward and picked up the contract she had just signed and gave it a once over.

"Everything seems fine," Harry told. He took a pen from the desk and wrote a few things down on the back of the folder. "I just need to hand this in, and everything will get arranged. I'll be back in a few minutes. Feel free to examine your office."

He left the office and moved a few meters down the hallway to where Zeke's office was. He rapped on the door and opened it. Michelle was behind her desk typing quickly on a keyboard. She looked up as he came in. "Mr. Black. Did you choose an assistant?" she asked.

"I did," Harry told, quite pleased with that fact. "Not that it was anyone on the list though."

"So you hired someone else?" she asked, surprised.

Harry nodded placing the folder with the résumés he didn't want as well as Jenny's contract. "You know Jennifer O'Neil from Reception?" Harry asked.

She nodded, "I know Jenny. She's sat with me a few times during lunch. She's nice."

"I know," Harry told her. He pulled out the contract she signed. "And that's why I just hired her."

"You did? She's aware of magic?" Michelle asked.

Harry nodded, "She and her sister are squibs. I accidentally made a wizarding reference and she realised I knew about magic. We talked, and she's in her office now."

Michelle took the files and glanced over the contract. "Well, this all seems fine." She noticed the writing on the back of the folder.

"That's the conditions and details that I set," Harry said.

She glanced at it for a moment. Harry caught her eyebrows rise at one point but she said nothing. She looked back at him, "I'll see that everything gets taken to the right places for you Mr. Black."

"Thank you Michelle. You're still up to showing her how things work up here?" Michelle had either volunteered or been tasked by Zeke to let Harry's assistant shadow her for a while so she could get the hang of things.

"It's no problem Mr. Black," Michelle told him with a smile. "Just send her through when you're ready."

Harry smiled at the woman, "You are a life saver."

She smiled back, "So I'm told."

Harry left her office and moved back to his. He opened the door to see Jenny examining the painting that hung behind her desk. "You can have that changed if you want. We could probably set up an illusion to make it look like a window if you want."

"No. No, its fine like it is," Jenny told him. Her nerves had clearly risen in the last five minutes. Maybe it was adrenalin.

"So, you want to meet your boss?" Harry asked with a glance toward the double doors to her left.

She quickly looked at the door and back to Harry, "He's in there?"

"Come on, I'll introduce you." He walked towards the door allowing it to open as he neared it. Jenny followed somewhat hesitantly behind him. He walked into the empty office and made his way to the desk at the end. He walked around behind it and took a seat. Jenny looked at him in confusion.

Harry held up a hand to his face and muttered a few words. His glamour slowly faded away, leaving behind the 19 year old kid with scars. "Morning Jenny," Harry said with a smile.

She blinked in confusion a few times before she put everything together. "Harry?" she asked in surprise.

"You were curious about what I did here, well, ta-da!"

"You?" she asked again. "You _own_ this company?"

Harry shrugged, "Most of it." He waved his hand and a chair appeared just beside her. "Seat?"

She sat heavily. "Wandless?" she asked, eyes wide.

Harry nodded, "I'm a bit odd." He smiled at her, "When I interviewed you I told you so."

She seemed to just realise something, "You just spent the morning talking about yourself in the third person. You've also spent the better part of the last month walking around here as two different people." She seemed to relax and she laughed. "A shrink would have a field day with you."

Harry smiled back. If she was still joking with him she hopefully wouldn't start calling him 'Mr. Evans.' "I doubt they could handle me," Harry told her. "So what do you think of this then?"

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts, "It's completely insane. First that you're walking around here as two people and second that you're _nineteen_ and you control this place." She tilted her head slightly, "You knew who my cousin was because you were a year _behind_ her class, didn't you?"

Harry nodded, "I know Katie, but you can't tell her about me. Anything. That covers the Secrets contract you signed."

Harry could tell she was trying to work out _why_ she couldn't but she let it rest. "So you're my boss now?" she asked.

"I'm afraid so." He glanced at his watch. He needed to be back in Smallville soon. "Look, I'm sure you've got hundreds of questions you want to ask, but most of them I probably couldn't or won't answer. As it is, I've got places to be and people to, well, keep from killing each other I imagine. What I have for you do to until you get the hang of everything is to work along side Michelle Iverson, Zeke's Executive Assistant and her other assistants."

**OoOoOoOoO**

An hour later Harry, Lois and Clark made their way through the doors of the nearby animal shelter. Lois had a firm hold onto the chain that was attached to the golden retriever's neck. The dog, despite being the best behaved dog he'd ever met, still hated been tied up. Harry sympathized with it.

They walked past a number of people and their animals over to the empty reception desk. "Sit," Lois told the dog. It sat easily. "Good dog," Lois praised. She seemed to take pride in the fact that whilst the dog listened to Clark's commands; it listened to hers as well. She looked smugly at Clark.

Clark looked at her in annoyance, reached forward and rung the small silver bell on top of the desk that was used to get the attention from someone in the back of the shelter.

A young man with medium length brown hair made his out from the back. As he made his way closer to them 'Clarkie' began barking. Harry was sure he could hear anger in it. The Young man looked at the dog and Harry saw familiarity flash through his eyes.

"Hey, shh," Lois instructed the dog.

"Hi. How can I help you guys?" the young man asked. Harry could tell he was nervous, he took a few steps back away from the counter.

"We found this dog," Clark told him.

"Actually, uh, I found him," Lois said cutting Clark off before he could speak again. "Well, hit him actually." At the young mans concerned look at the dog Lois quickly realised how bad what she said sounded, "Not hard. We call him Clarkie." She finished with a bright smile, waiting for Clark's response.

"We don't call him Clarkie," Clark muttered in annoyance.

Lois turned to him, getting into her stride, "Is it the _'ie'_ part you don't like? Because we could always just make it Clark. But then that would get really confusing, and hey, maybe you should consider changing your name. You could be Skipper," Lois told Clark. Clark just stared at her in bored annoyance. Harry barely held back a smile at Lois' more than likely butchering of the name Clark had picked for the dog.

Not even dignifying Lois' rant with a response, he turned back the young man behind the counter, "Anyway," Clark said, acting as though Lois hadn't spoken. "Uh, we think he might have an ID chip. We were wondering if you could scan it for us. If it's not too much trouble."

"Um, well, sure, I guess," the young man said. He picked up a scan gun from the counter and moved towards the dog. The golden retriever barked violently and the young man jumped backwards quickly. Harry was now suspicious enough to push into the kids mind.

He spent several seconds looking at the memories of why this guy, Zack, recognised the dog. He found one definitive reason. _'It's going to be one of those days,' _Harry thought to himself.

"Whoa! Easy, boy," Zack said to the dog.

"Yeah," Lois said to Zack. "He doesn't seem to have a lot of love for you." She looked most curious about that.

"Maybe I should do that," Clark said. He took the gun from Zack and ducked down to scan the dog. Lois sneezed loudly.

"Bless you," Zack said to Lois, a look of mild attraction on his face.

"Thanks," Lois muttered, still annoyed at her allergic reaction and being reminded of it.

Clark scanned the dog. The computer on the counter beeped as it recognised LuthorCorp as the registered owner of the dog. From what Harry knew of Lex, genetically enhancing dogs wasn't that far outside of his M.O.

"LuthorCorp?" Clark asked in surprise.

"You're kidding," Lois muttered in surprise.

"Huh," Zack muttered in faked surprise. "It must be one of those lab dogs or something."

"Lab dogs?" Clark asked.

Zack clearly wanted the subject changed, "I'd be happy to take him off your hands and return him for you."

"No thanks," Harry told him from a few steps diagonally to the right of Clark. "We'll be able to take care of this." He didn't want this guy getting his hands on this dog.

Lois looked at him oddly. "Come on," he told them.

Clark decided quickly that this was a good idea. "Come on, boy. Come on," he said to the dog. The three of them turned to leave. Harry caught the look on Zack's face that said that he really didn't want them to leave.

"I should probably get your name and address, though, in case someone from LuthorCorp calls. Its policy," Zack told them in a last ditch effort to get information.

"Would you mind taking him back to the farm? I'm gonna go talk to Lex." Clark told Lois.

Lois looked completely unenthused at the idea. "Terrific." She took the chain from Clark and looked down at the dog, "Come on. Let's go sneeze a while. Heel, Clarkie." Another smug smile lit up on her face as Clark frowned at her.

"I've got this Clark," Harry told him. "Go see what Lex has to say on the idea."

"Sure, thanks."

Harry walked back over to the counter where Zack handed him a clip board and a pen. "You've never seen the dog before?" Harry asked innocently, looking for the reaction. Panic flicked across his eyes. "I mean," Harry continued. "This is a pretty small town. I would have thought you might have seen him before."

Zack gulped, "Nope. He must be a new dog."

Harry nodded with a fake smile on his face. He wrote down his address instead of the Kent's. With a nod towards the young man, Harry turned and left the building.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated back home and sat down on his porch. Once again, he was into something that was far beyond normal. What he had pulled out of the mind from the kid in the animal shelter was just a normal week's work in Smallville. The golden retriever, a dog named Einstein, had been a lab dog for LuthorCorp like had been suggested. The dogs in the lab were being given injections of something that was likely made from the green meteor rocks. Once injected the dogs strength would increase significantly.

Harry didn't know what the purpose or point of doing this would be.

The project had been scrapped and only two dogs survived; Einstein and one other dog. Both of these dogs were now being held by the two guys who ran the animal shelter. They had used the dogs to steal from stores and the like. The younger guy's older brother had been a dog trainer at LuthorCorp for the duration of the serum trials and had access to the strengthening serum.

There had also been an article in the newspaper about a shop keeper that had been attacked by what authorities thought was a bear. All the proof they had was that whatever had attacked the store, leaving the owner in a coma, had ripped the door from a safe.

All he knew now was that these two guys would more than likely want their dog back.

Well, they'd be in for a surprise if they turned up.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry walked up the stairs to Clark's barn, spotting the teenager staring out into Smallville. "How'd the talk with Lex go?" Harry asked when Clark turned round.

"Lionel Luthor was experimenting on dogs before he was arrested. When Lex found the project he said he put a stop to it."

"He seems to have missed a spot," Harry commented.

Clark nodded, "That's what I told him. He said I could keep Skippy."

Harry half smiled, "Still trying for 'Skippy?'"

Clark nodded in determination, "Lois is still calling him 'Clarkie' whenever I'm in the room. She's obsessed with it."

"I think it's the fact that every time she uses the name you react to her. If you ignored her she'd end up getting bored, although, with Lois, it's hard to tell," Harry told him, taking a seat on the wooden hand rail at the top of the stairs.

Clark smiled in annoyed amusement, "So you're really alright with her staying with you? I don't think I could have handled it again."

Harry laughed, "She likes annoying you Clark. Whilst I can't say she's an angel, she mellows out a bit when you're out of hearing."

Clark just scowled at him.

"So we have more of a problem with this dog thing than we had earlier," Harry told Clark, changing the subject.

"What?" Clark asked in confusion.

"The guy at the animal shelter, did he seem nervous to you?" Harry asked. He wanted to see what Clark had noticed and put together.

Clark thought about it for a moment before nodding, "He did seem to want the dog. When you said to leave I was just about to. There was something, strange about him."

"And you noticed that the dog didn't seem to like him much," Harry told him.

Clark nodded before realising what Harry was getting at, "You think he has something to do with this?"

"I _know_ he has something to do with this," Harry told him. "I saw the nerves and I saw how the dog reacted so I treated it as suspicious." He pushed himself off the hand railing he was sitting on. "Not only has he seen the dog before, who's current name is Einstein by the way, he and his brother have another one of these dogs and they've been injecting a green serum into them to, well, can you guess what?"

"They're using liquid meteor rock to increase the dog's strength," Clark stated.

"That's what I got from that kid we talked to. They've been using the dogs to rob places that would otherwise be difficult."

"The Co-op?" Clark asked, a look of fright on his face. The Smallville Co-op was the store that had the steel door ripped off.

"The work of the dogs, but, when Lois brought back the golden retriever, there was no blood on it, so I think we're alright in that regard."

"What do you think they'll do now? Try get Skippy back?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded, "I gave them my address when you left. If they try using the second dog to bring back the first, I'll be able to handle myself."

"What about Lois?" Clark asked.

Harry opened his mouth to say she'd be fine but the fact that she was _living_ with him had skipped his mind. "Damn," he muttered. "I forgot she'd probably be around if they turned up."

"I could talk to Lex," Clark suggested.

"And when he works out that the dogs have more strength than a dog should have? What will he do with your dog?" Harry was pleased that Clark had come up with an alternative plan

"I have to hope he'll let me keep him."

Harry nodded. "Well, I'm liking your plan more than mine just now," he told Clark. "You'll see if you can Lex to interfere before they come looking for Skippy?"

Clark nodded, "I'll go see him now."

"Call me when it's done?"

Clark nodded and left the barn.

Harry moved over to Clark's telescope and looked up into the sky. How had he forgotten he had someone living with him? He'd try to bring danger to his home without thinking of the fact that there was now someone who could get caught in the crossfire. He'd acted without thinking again and that never ended well for his friends. He'd need to pull his act together.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Thankfully, Clark had gone to Lex with what information they had and Lex had intervened, sending a security team to the animal shelter where they discovered a few dozen vials of the strengthening serum, classified LuthorCorp documents, plans for future crimes and, of course, the second dog.

Zack and his older brother Josh were arrested. The second dog was scheduled to be put down. Mauling the Co-op shop owner had sealed its fate, despite Clark's protests. The other dog was given a thorough examination that proved that the dog was perfectly healthy and baring no signs of surprising strength. It was just a regular dog now that the serum had worn off. After some discussion between Clark and Lex, Clark was allowed to keep the dog, much to his delight.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry sat in his study, reading through a multitude of files on his computer that had been sent over that day from the Prometheus lab. Whist science wasn't his forte, he was doing his best to read through everything of importance so that he understood the project he was meant to be running. Alicia asking why he was running the project when he didn't know anything about what was going on was a wake up call and he was no doing what he could to be a proper part of it.

The lab hadn't had any breakthroughs, but the small details interested him. For example, Alicia could teleport through all the wards that had been cast and tried, but lead stopped her.

He was flicking through patient files when his phone rang. "Chloe," Harry answered. "How can I help?"

There was a slight pause, "What makes you think I need help?" She sounded curious and was not denying it.

"Its 10pm on a Wednesday," Harry answered dryly.

Chloe chuckled quietly. "I've been looking up something for Lana and I've reached a bit of a road block."

"What's Lana looking for?" Harry asked curiously.

"For some odd reason she want's me to trace Jason's family tree. And whilst it's halfway interesting, Lana seemed pretty freaked when she asked me to look this up."

"Was she ok?" Harry asked. That feeling of unease he had every time he was near Jason was slowly rising.

"If she's asking me to look up a family tree, it can't be that bad."

"So why are you asking me?" Harry wondered.

"I was curious to see if any of your sources could find anything. The Teague's are a powerful family and I know you have sources."

"What's your problem with it?" Harry asked, half-way curious.

"The family tree begins in the early 1900's. Before that, it just seems to have vanished."

"What name does it start with?" Harry asked. This didn't seem like anything overly important.

"Let me check. She was born in France 1892, died 1944. Ah, here's the name Perseus Malfoy."

"What?!" Harry hissed. _'Malfoy? Jason's family were related to the Malfoy's? What the hell happened there?' _Harry thought to himself.

"Um," Chloe muttered, taken a back by his reaction. "Perseus Malfoy is Jason's great-grandmother."

"You're positive that it's Malfoy?" Harry asked. This would need looking up now.

"Yeah, that's what it says here. Why? You recognise the name?" Chloe questioned.

"I went to school with a kid called Malfoy. If there is ever _any_ bad news in the world, they're usually behind it somehow."

"Seriously?" Chloe asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, seriously. I'll call someone I know and see if I can find more."

"Alright, thanks Harry."

Harry hung up and held down '5' on his phone. "Hello?" a voice that he didn't recognise answered.

"Is this Rachel O'Neil?" Harry asked. He'd called Jenny for her first odd request for him. He hadn't expected the sister to pick up though.

"Yeah. Who's this?" she asked back.

"I'm a friend of Jenny's," Harry told her. "Harry Evans."

"Oh, right, hold on." She paused for a second. "JENNY! PHONE!"

"I'M COMING!" Jenny's voice shouted back. "There was no need to shout; the flat isn't that big."

"Well, I'm just practising for when we get a bigger one," the younger sister pointed out smugly. Harry could practically hear her smile.

Jenny laughed, "I've only had the job a day. Let's not go spending all my money already."

"Yeah, well," Rachel pointed out in remarkable logic. "Oh, that Harry guy is on the phone."

"And you didn't think to tell me that sooner? Give me the phone."

"Jeez, calm down. It's not like you're dating him," Rachel pointed out. Harry laughed quietly. The more he heard of this sister the more he liked her.

He heard the phone being exchanged between hands. "Harry? You still there?"

"Hey Jenny," Harry said, still amused by the sisters banter.

"I'm sorry about her. She's been a tad over excited today with everything that's happened."

Harry laughed, "Don't worry about it. Your sister sounds like an interesting kid."

"Kid? You realise she's only three years younger than you?"

"I feel about 25 on a good day, so I'm basing it off that. How was your day with Michelle?" Harry asked.

"Scary," Jenny told him with a small laugh. "She does a worryingly large amount of things during a day. I didn't freak out once though, so I guess there's that."

Harry laughed, "Well done."

"Thanks," she told him dryly. "So were you calling to see how the day went or is this a business call?" Jenny asked.

"Both. I wanted to know how things were but I need to you to find something for me for tomorrow afternoon."

"Hold on whilst I find a pen," Jenny muttered. "Alright," she said a few seconds later.

"I need you to find a complete family tree for Genevieve Teague. Not on the Teague name, but her maiden name."

"You want me to look up a family tree?" she asked oddly.

"I said I had odd requests when I called you," Harry said with a smile. "A friend of mine has already tried looking it up but the tree doesn't start until 1892. I want the last… I want it from the 1500's onward."

"Alright. Is there anything specific I should be looking for?"

"Nothing specific, but in 1892 the woman's name was Perseus Malfoy. That's a magical family."

"Malfoy?" Jenny asked. "Wasn't there a…"

"Malfoy in Hogwarts? Yeah, he was a year below your cousin. His father was the terrorists right hand man until he died. You'll want to check both magical and regular channels for this. Michelle should know where to look." He paused for a second, "Actually, I inherited everything the Malfoy's owned when they died. It's very possible that I have their updating tapestry in a vault somewhere. Michelle will have access to the inventory I think."

"Alright, I'll have that for you when I can," she promised.

"Thanks Jenny. Good night."

"Night Harry."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Lois had come home shortly after his phone call with Chloe after spending most of the evening with Martha Kent down at the Talon. Now that she had time to kill in Smallville she was considering getting a part time job down at the Talon.

Under the pretence of going to sleep Harry kept working on his animagus transformation. He was sure that he was now spending around 11 hours a day practising. He was so close he could feel it. He mentally told himself that he'd have it done by March.

He now practised through the night, having to stop due to school and the two hours rest that he needed.

School was fine during the day. Chloe had asked if he'd found anything, but Jenny had still to get back to him.

It was 4pm when his phone finally rung. "Afternoon Jenny," Harry greeted.

"Hi Harry. I've got the information you wanted, from both magical and non-magical sources. I've emailed you both of them."

"Where did you get it?" Harry asked.

"You were right when you said there was a chance you had their charmed family tree. I've got that as well as several volumes of the Malfoy Family Grimoires. It took a few hours searching but I've got all the relevant information I think you'd want, plus an extra 600 of family history that you don't."

"What can you tell me about Perseus?" Harry asked.

"Well, other than the fact that there have been seven of them over their recorded history the family tree has Perseus removed from it."

"She was a squib," Harry answered, fully aware of how a pureblood family treated family members without magic.

"She was, the first in a while from the family. They realised she had no magic when she reached eleven and she put out onto the street shortly after. She was smart though and apparently made off with enough gold to build herself up and marry a duke. She died during World War II."

Harry nodded, despite the fact that Jenny couldn't see him. He'd been wondering why Lana was interested in her boyfriends family tree. The fact that he was her boyfriend didn't seem logical. With the Malfoy name in the question, it tied in with Countess Isobel mess that Lana was stuck in. He was sure this had something to do with Isobel.

"Thanks Jenny; you did well."

"Thank you Harry."

He hung up his phone and walked into the Kent barn where Lois sat with the dog. Clark was doing chores nearby. "Lois, if you're allergic to the dog, why are you always around it?"

"I can't help if the daft thing likes me," Lois muttered, throwing a red ball out of the barn. The dog bounded after it.

"Daft is right," Harry muttered as he sat down beside her. He looked over to Clark who was carrying a heavy wooden beam over his shoulder, "You named him yet?" He knew bringing up the dogs name probably wasn't a good idea, but he was still curious.

"I think we've settled on Clarkie," Lois told Harry with a smug grin.

"For the last time Lois, we aren't calling the dog Clarkie. I don't even know why I keep discussing this with you!" Lois, having clearly irritated Clark, still looked smug. "What do you think Harry?"

He watched as the golden retriever ran back in with the red ball Lois had thrown. He dropped the ball at Harry's feet, sat down and whined, wanting the ball thrown again. He picked it up and threw it. With a small banishing charm it made good distance.

"I'll give you two suggestions I've had since yesterday."

"Yeah?" Lois asked.

"Padfoot or Sirius," Harry told them. He liked this dog and it was very smart. He was sure Sirius would have gotten on well with it. Added to the fact that the dog had been held by LuthorCorp and done who knows what to it before escaping, it fit.

"Padfoot?" Lois asked distastefully. "I don't think so."

"I like Sirius," Clark told him, looking thoughtful.

"Wasn't he your mass-murdering godfather?" Lois asked.

"My _innocent_ mass-murdering godfather," Harry told her with a small smile. Thinking of Sirius still hurt, but he knew that Sirius was with his best friends in the next life and that he'd be happy.

"Sirius is a star, isn't it?" Lois asked Clark. Clark, who had a fond interest of astronomy nodded.

"The brightest star in the sky," Clark told her.

"And the faithful hound of Orion the Hunter," Harry said with a look to Clark.

"I like it," Clark said. He glanced to Lois reluctantly, expecting her to shoot down the idea.

She saw his look and shrugged, "I could live with Sirius for his name. Siri."

The golden retriever ran back in with the ball between his teeth. The ball was dropped in front of Harry again. He picked it up and chucked it to Clark, the dog close behind it. Clark bent down and rubbed his golden fur.

"Hey boy. What do you think of Sirius for a name?" Clark asked.

Harry laughed as the dog titled his head, clearly thinking about the question. He barked after a moment. "Good boy!" Clark praised, hugging the dog. Clark seemed utterly delighted to have a dog. Harry hadn't seen a smile on his face that big since Lana kissed him on the cheek at New Year.

"Well, I've got something to show Chloe, so I'll see you later," Harry told them as he stood.

"What is it?" Lois asked.

"Something she asked me look up last night. Nothing big."

"If you say so," Lois muttered.

Harry left the barn and Apparated home, printing off the files Jenny had emailed him. He called Chloe and let her know that he'd meet her at the Talon.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry, Chloe and Lana sat in the Talon apartment on the couch. Lana poured a cup of coffee for Chloe and herself. Rarely drinking the stuff, Harry politely refused.

"So what did you find?" Lana asked Chloe.

"Not much. The public family tree only starts in the 19th century and everything before that is gone. It's like someone just chopped off a part of his family tree."

"Or the family tree started there," Harry told her.

"What did your source tell you?" Chloe asked. Lana looked on curiously.

"Well, this," Harry dropped the folder down on the table. "Is the entire family tree for the family, back to 10th Century France, and this is a snippet from an old family Grimoire that talks about how Perseus Malfoy," he turned to Lana. "That's the name Chloe's search found as the earliest member of Jason's family, was kicked out of the family."

"How… how did you get these?" Lana asked. Chloe looked shocked.

"The first name on Chloe's list is Perseus Malfoy. I went to school with a Malfoy and didn't get on particular well with him. That entire branch of the family died shortly before I came to America and a friend of mine inherited everything the Malfoy family had, including this. I gave him call and asked him track it down for me."

"You sounded angry when I mentioned Malfoy yesterday," Chloe said. "Why was that?"

Harry considered the question. He could easily just brush it off, mention him being a bully, but the lies were starting to get to him. He'd try honesty for once. "My friend Hermione," Harry said. He shook his head and took a deep breath. "She was murdered by the Malfoy kid I went to school with. My friend Ron was murdered by his father. Nothing good can ever come from that bloodline."

The girls looked shocked. "I'm so sorry I brought that up Harry," Chloe told.

"Are you ok?" Lana asked in concern noticing that he was taking deeper breaths.

"Yeah, fine. Right, so I have Perseus' history. Why were you looking for the family tree?" he asked Lana.

"I, uh, saw Jason downstairs talking to his mom. It was obviously a heated discussion, but uh... when he came up to the apartment, he didn't even mention it to me."

"Well, did you hear what they were talking about?" Chloe asked.

"No. But it clearly rattled him. I know he's keeping something from me. You know, I don't even know who I can trust anymore."

Harry about told her she could trust him, but he had more secrets than most. There was a lot he could tell her about the Countess that she didn't know, but he couldn't tell her without breaking the statute of secrecy.

"Well, all I could find about Perseus was that she was born in a French town called Castelnois de Montmiral; everything else was gone."

"Lana?" Harry asked, seeing a fearful look on her face. "What's familiar about that town?"

"It's the town that my ancestors come from. And Isobel Theroux." The connections to this clearly worried her.

"Well, on a scale of weird to ten... Genevieve's grandmother is the one who moved Isobel's tomb into that church in Paris," Chloe told Lana.

"Why would anyone move a witch's tomb into a church?" Lana asked.

Harry thought hard about the answer. There had to be some magical reason for it. He thought hard about why a Malfoy would do something like that. His eyes widened slightly as he realised a possible reason.

The Theroux Prophecy.

Perseus had been kicked out from her family and it was only natural that she'd be bitter about it. Assuming all Malfoy's were genetically alike, she'd no doubt have strived for revenge against her family and, what better than the Prophecy stating the awakening of a witch powerful enough to destroy what remained of her family line.

She had to have been the one that helped activate, or even set up Isobel's Horcrux. There was a certain irony in a Malfoy reviving a Potter to try end the Malfoy line.

"What is it Harry?" Lana asked. He had planned to say nothing, but apparently he needed to work on keeping his face expressionless a bit more.

"This might sound mad, but bare with me. Perseus was disowned by her family. What if she heard, and believed in, the fact that Isobel would rise again? What if she moved Isobel to that church in order to try awaken her to destroy her family?"

Whilst Perseus had no magic, or at the very least, was reported to have none, she could very easily have found someone to aid her. Whilst necromancy was an almost lost art, there were still practitioners around the world that wielded awe inspiring and horrific magic. With the dark knowledge the Malfoy's kept, it wouldn't be too far of a stretch for them to know of people who could use this magic.

"You think she somehow caused Isobel's revival?" Chloe asked.

Harry shrugged, "I don't know, but odder things have happened. I do know what Malfoy's are like though and they wouldn't rest until the person they feel wronged them was put in their place. If Isobel had magic I wouldn't put it past Perseus to have as well." Whilst he knew that wasn't true, the actual explanation would be too much.

"Do you think I should ask Jason?" Lana questioned them both.

"I think you should," Chloe told her.

Harry weighed his answer around. "If he knew something he'd likely not tell you and flat out deny knowledge, whether he has any or not. If you do ask him, you need to watch his reaction instead of listening to what he says."

"Is that what you do?" Chloe asked curiously. His odd, correct hunches were well known amongst his friends; even if they were as minor as a pop quiz that was coming up the next day that he'd passively pulled from a teachers mind.

Harry nodded, "You learn a lot from watching people, especially their eyes. That's what sorted out today's problem without bloodshed."

"Bloodshed? What happened?" Lana asked.

"Long story," Harry said with a wave of his hand. "The short version is, Clark has a new dog and the people that stole the dogs from LuthorCorp as well as an experimental serum have been arrested."

"Clark's keeping the dog?" Chloe asked excitedly. "Did he name it yet?"

Harry smiled, "As Clark wanted to call the dog Skippy and Lois wanted to call the dog Clarkie…" He trailed off as Lana snorted a laugh. He raised an enquiring eyebrow.

"Clarkie?" Lana asked with an amused smile.

Harry nodded. "She said the name was fitting as she couldn't get within 10ft of the dog without getting sick. She's spent the better part of a day calling the dog Clarkie just to get a rise out of Clark. She got a kick out of just how much it annoyed him."

That got a smile out of all of them. "What did he name it in the end?" Lana asked.

"I offered Sirius as a name. Clark liked it and Lois, well, she didn't dislike it."

"After your godfather?" Lana asked with a warming smile.

"Yeah," Harry told her. "He was named after the Dogstar and I'm sure he would have liked his namesake. He liked dogs."

They spent the rest of the evening in the Talon apartment talking.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	24. Secret

**AN:**_Chapter! Going on holiday for a few weeks so there won't be an update for a while. Just so ya'll know. Leave me lots of reviews just so I know how missed I was… or not._

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 24 – Secret**

_(Friday February 25th 2005)_

Harry sat in his quiet house, staring up at the ceiling. For almost a month Lois had been staying with him. Lois' father, a three star general for the US Army, was, for a two week period over seeing training activities in Fort Leavenworth, an army base in Kansas.

Not having seen him in a while Lois was now staying with her father for his two week stop over.

Lois had been gone for three days and Harry was bored.

It had amazed him how quickly he had gotten use to having a housemate. A year ago he would have sought out solitude, hell, a month ago he likely would have, but now, having been use to Lois around to causing no end of mishaps, everything was quiet and he was bored.

He'd weight his options over what to do. He could train with his magic at Marauder Tower or he could just turn up with a completely bizarre request to hand to Jenny to see how she managed with it. He'd tried that on average once a week now and she was steadily getting better at accommodating his whims or answering his questions on the company that just sprung from the back of his mind at odd moments.

He was glad he hired her and she was glad to have been hired. The prospect of making a considerable amount more money than she had before was clearly a strong motivator for her and she was determined to do her best at the job.

He decided not to bother Jenny. He had questions; he always did, but not ones odd enough to test her right now.

His animagus practice was also going well, but now as he was so near to the complete transformation, they were incredibly tiring and put a lot of strain on his body. Compressing his 6ft 1 inch height to 20 inches was staggeringly hard. Despite himself, he was honestly impressed that Peter Pettigrew had been able to manage the transformation, especially in the same time his father and his godfather had.

He was now only able to try the transformation once a day for no more than an hour before it felt as though he'd been thrown from a 4th story window. Having been dropped from considerable heights for years, Harry knew this feeling well and it wasn't one you ever got use to.

Doing something he rarely found himself doing, he turned on his TV. Even after owning one for almost half a year, watching it still felt weird. Sure, he'd caught bits at the Dursleys. With Dudley spending most of his time in front of it, it would have been difficult to miss, but he'd never just sat down and watched it. Despite his oddities, not watching TV was generally seen, by the people he knew in Smallville, as his oddest. Being in an American High School where everyone talked about things they'd seen on the TV daily, not watching it left him out of a lot of conversation; not that that bothered him.

He picked up the remote and flicked through channels. Having not used his TV that much, his mental control over it still wasn't up to scratch. "…breaking news from New York. Here is our correspondent Tom Florence," a female voice news anchor said, her finger against her ear. Harry put the remote down and listened.

"Thank you Carol," the voice of a male reporter said. An image appeared on screen of a face he was recently familiar with. "We have just confirmed that Dr. Virgil Swann passed away this morning. No further details have been released."

Harry sat back and listened carefully. MI had been in recent talks with Swann Communications and things had been going well. With SC having a monopoly on satellites and global communication and MI having a monopoly on the world's media, they were in talks of a potential partnership. Zeke had been quite surprised when Swann Communications had approached them.

The male reporter continued speaking. "The reclusive billionaire will be remembered as one of the leading philanthropists of his generation. Along with starting the Virgil Swann Charitable Foundation he generously funded a wing at the National History Museum."

Harry continued to listen to the report. Doctor Virgil Swann had approached MI almost three weeks ago, impressed with the potential the company had as well as the work the Lillian Foundation were doing. Swann, as the news report correctly said, was one of the worlds leading philanthropists and knew the good Harry and MI were doing with the new Foundation.

The Lillian Foundation had already begun its work in Metropolis and a few nearby cities. Now, as to not overstretch, they were dealing primarily with children and trying to make life easier for those that really struggled in their surrounding area. Harry had seen a few of the orphanages the city had and had been appalled at their condition. The people that worked at them were mostly volunteers and received no money for their time and support. The building's were beginning to crumble and he'd found that in a few years, if something wasn't done, they would close.

Harry found himself slightly appreciating the fact that his cupboard was at least warm and knew he had to do something. Compassionate feelings about his 'relatives' pointed out that there was horrible situation in the city.

There was a shockingly high number of kids, especially teenagers, that were homeless in his nearest city and Harry, with all his money and increasing resources knew he had do something.

Money had been given in fairly large amounts to the orphanages that truly did their best to look after their children. Wages had been provided for the volunteers, staff had been hired, repair work was done to the buildings, debts paid off and the kids were provided with essentials that they didn't have before. The work MI had done had caught Dr. Swann's eye and he'd said that he had been impressed.

Somehow Swann had discovered that Harry's income from his shares was being given, fully and directly into the Foundation and he'd said how admiral that was. In his life Swann had given away a major portion of his company's profits to charitable causes and that was something Harry hoped he could emulate. He wasn't here to make money, he wasn't here for power; he just wanted to help.

"Swann spent searching for intelligent life in the universe. The world will remember his many contributions and man will benefit from his gifts for generations to come. This has been Tom Florence. Back to you Carol."

The picture changed from a full screen image of Swann to the female news anchor. "Thank you Tom. In other news…"

Harry muted the TV and dug his phone from his jeans pocket. He held down '6' and the phone began to ring. "Ezekiel Griffis' office," a female voice answered.

"Michelle, it's Alexander Black," Harry told Zeke's assistant.

"Yes Mr. Black, how can I help?"

"Can you put me through to Zeke please?" Harry asked.

"Of course. Please hold for a moment."

He waited for a few seconds as the new connection was made. "I assume you heard about Swann?" Zeke asked, skipping pleasantries.

"Just caught it on the news now," Harry told him. "How long have you known?" With MI owning a staggering portion of the media, the news could have reached him quicker than the public.

"A few hours ago I got word of it from Swann's people and I just saw it on the news now."

"Any word on what happened?" Harry asked. He knew that Swann hadn't been in the best health, having been paralyzed in the car accident that killed his wife nearly 15 years ago. He had been reliant on machines to survive.

"A heart attack," Zeke told him. "We knew that Swann had been into hospitals on a frequent basis recently, but there's no word on what. I'm thinking he knew this was happening."

"What makes you say that?" Harry asked.

Zeke laughed slightly, "Swann has barely been registered in the last few years. He practically fell of the face of the earth near twenty years ago. To have him contact us was a huge surprise. He was the worlds leading philanthropist and then you come along and very quickly try to play catch up. Then, three weeks after he seeks us out he dies. I reckon he saw you had potential."

"That's a big assumption to make Zeke," Harry pointed out.

"And that's just what it is Harry; an assumption. I'm a smart man and I recognise that Swann contacting us was beyond the realms of likely possibilities. He didn't as much seek us out as he sought you out."

"Alright," Harry concede. "Saying this is true, what do we do now?"

There was a moment of silence, "We continue as we have. You continue as you have."

"Alright," Harry told Zeke. "What happens to Swann Communications now then?"

"His daughter, a few years older than you, will likely get handed the keys to the kingdom, just like all the other billionaires under 26 this country seems to be drowning in."

"That's another one?" Harry asked. If Swann's daughter was given control over the company that meant there were now five people all under the age of 26 that owned billionaire companies.

"Likely," Zeke said.

"Another orphan as well?" Harry asked with a sigh. Those with money just couldn't have easy lives. Out of those five billionaires, only one of them had a parent left and that was Lex Luthor.

"I'm afraid so. Money can be a horrible curse." Zeke sighed, "Now I'll be in Yew York for the next few days. I'm still going across to see Swann Communications and pay my respects to the man. Even in the magical part of this country he was respected."

Harry sat in silence for a minute, working out if he could get away with what his mind was suggesting to him. "You taking your plane or are you Apparating?" Harry asked.

Zeke chuckled, "Harry, you need to remember that _very_ few people can Apparate between states. Apparating from Kansas to New York is mostly impossible. I'll be taking the private jet."

"Have you got a spare seat?" Harry asked.

"You want to come?" Zeke asked. Harry could practically hear the man's raised eyebrow.

Harry nodded to himself, "Yeah, I'll come. The man did good work. You'll get this arranged for me?"

"Plane leaves tomorrow at 8am from Metropolis. I'll have Michelle set everything up for you. Do I need to mention you'll likely miss a day or two of class?" Zeke asked.

"We both know I don't need school, that I know what they're trying to teach and the company is more important."

"You don't have a test on Monday do you?" Zeke asked with a mocking laugh.

"Bite me Zeke," Harry told the man with smile.

"Fair enough. You'll be at Metropolis Airport at 7am tomorrow."

"Alright, and I'm coming as Harry, not my alter ego."

There was a few seconds silence, "Alright. Assuming Swann knew about you and that his time in this world was up, he's likely told his daughter who you are."

"That was my thought. I'll see you at 7am tomorrow. Oh, what _is_ the daughter's name?" Harry asked.

"Patricia Swann, Harry."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry made no mention of his trip to his friends, hoping that he wouldn't have to. Lately he had been playing the 'banking stuff' card a bit strongly and he seriously doubted that he'd be able to realistically explain why he had to go to New York for a few days. Whilst he was not looking forward to being publicly shown as the owner of MI, it would at least mean he could tell his friends. The temptation was there on a near daily basis but he wanted to wait until the summer months before he mentioned it to his friends; he wanted to just be 'Harry' for a little while longer.

Instead, he just remained home reading through files he had on Swann and the company the man started. He spent a lot of time familiarising himself with the Lillian Foundation. Zeke now asked on a weekly basis what Harry actually wanted to do in his company when he needed to take a real roll. Did he just want to remain on as an advisor, did he want to make his commitment to Prometheus full time, or did he want to do something different. With all the work that the Foundation was doing, Harry was now tempted to find a job there. The only problem with that would likely mean a lot more publicity for him. He wanted to avoid that.

Whilst he sat in his study reading file after file he had no idea Lana and Clark were on LuthorCorp jet charted to Shanghai, China.

Morning came and Harry found himself at Metropolis International Airport a full hour earlier than he'd been instructed. He'd only been in an airport once in his life and that had been with Vernon to pick up Marge Dursley from a trip to somewhere that he couldn't remember. Now, he was here for his own reason and was going to fly in a plane for the first time.

For someone who loved to fly, it was quite exciting.

He spent twenty minutes roaming around the inside of the airport until he got bored, Apparated to the runway and watched the planes take off. Whilst he was looking forward to flying in one, he wasn't sure how comfortable he'd be not being in control of the flight himself. There was a curious temptation to learn how to fly a plane, but he knew he had enough to deal with as well as knowing that flying in an animagus form would be far more fun.

He was interrupted from his comfortable spot on top of the control tower by Zeke calling him. He met him outside the airport without answering the phone. "Ready?" Harry asked from behind Zeke.

Zeke turned, not bother by Harry trying to sneak up him. "I've been here for waiting for you, so yeah. Come on."

"I've been here for an hour," Harry told him. "I was just watching the planes from the control room." Zeke led Harry through the airport and the check-ins.

"They let you in the control room?" Zeke asked, an eyebrow raised.

Harry shook his head, "I was sitting on the roof."

Zeke closed his eyes and sighed loudly, "You're trying to be solely responsible for revealing the magic world, aren't you?"

Harry smiled slightly at Zeke's frustration. "Probably," Harry told him. "But I was invisible and just wanted to watch the planes."

Zeke shook his head, "At times I wonder if this job is worth putting up with your madness."

"Is it?" Harry asked curiously.

The two of them moved outside to the tarmac where a small private plane sat waiting. A large red 'M' was painted on the tail. "Ask me after your name is publicly revealed." He glanced at Harry curiously, "Dare I ask why you seem so excited?"

They walked up the moveable stairs that had been brought up to the side of the plane. "I've never been in one of these before," Harry said, pointing at the plane. "Always wanted to when I was younger."

"Did you not have to… no, you used your lightning travel to get to New York the first time?"

Harry nodded, "Straight from Dover to New York in the speed of light."

"You could have just used that again," Zeke pointed out as the stepped onto the plane. They both nodded politely to the stewardess at the door. They took their seats and strapped themselves in.

"I could have but that would involve explaining to people who knew me how I got there."

"No one's going to know you there. If you've met any of them they've met Black."

"True, but what happens when my name comes out?" Harry asked. "There's likely going to be investigations into who I am, what I've done and where I've been. An unexplainable arrival in New York would mark me as suspicious."

Zeke nodded, "It's good to know you're aware of these things."

Harry shrugged, "Being aware of those small details is what kept me alive for so long."

Harry and Zeke fell into silence. Only the noise of the plane kept the silence from becoming uncomfortable. The pilot made his announcement about their destination before telling them to buckle their seatbelts.

"So this is your first time in a plane?" Zeke asked.

"Yeah. Not sure how I feel about it though. Feels odd knowing that it won't be me steering."

Zeke laughed, "Most broom fliers feel that way for the first time but after take off you'll barely even know you're flying. It's really not as exciting as you'd imagine."

"It's still a method of flying I've never tried before."

Harry glanced out the window, watching the wings and the tarmac as the plane's engines began to whine. He was pushed slightly back into his seat as the plane accelerated.

Ten minutes later the plane had levelled off and Harry unbuckled his seatbelt. "That's as exciting as it gets then?" Harry asked. Whilst the view outside was pretty good, Zeke had been right in saying that the plane felt almost stationary.

"Without crashing first, yeah," Zeke muttered, pulling out his laptop.

"This plane's protected from magic, right?" Harry asked Zeke after a moment.

"Yes," Zeke muttered slowly. "Although I'd prefer not have you destroy the plane."

Harry waved off his concern. "I can get some animagus training done during the flight."

Zeke looked up from his computer, "How far are you?"

"Days away from the complete transformation. It feels as though I've been hit by a bus after an hours practice though. It's almost done though."

"You've managed all the singular parts though?" Zeke asked.

They chatted about his transformation a bit longer but Harry never mentioned the wings.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The almost six hour flight ran smoothly. He had tried his animagus transformation for a while before moving through to the cockpit where he was given a crash course (the pilots didn't appreciate that phrase) on flying. Harry was fairly sure, and Zeke had made him promise not to try, that he could fly the plane himself if he wanted to. He may not be able to land it, but he could get it into the air and keep it there. His natural talent at flying proved quickly that it was for more than just a broom. It made him all the more eager to complete his animagus form.

At just before 3pm their plane touched down at JFK Airport. Harry was sure his landing could have been smoother but said nothing. They made their way to New York City.

Having spent a month here during the creation of Marauder Industries, Harry had a fair idea on the general layout of the city. Having seen the sights during his first days here he wasn't all that bothered to see them again and sat quietly in the back of their car as they made their way to the Four Seasons hotel.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry spent the evening just roaming around New York. It amazed him that as much as this city looked like Metropolis, it felt completely different. If the sun went down whilst you were still in the streets of Metropolis it was likely that you'd get attacked and, at the very least, mugged. In New York, whilst he knew it wasn't the safest place in the world, Harry just didn't feel that anxious. It was a good feeling to experience but it just pointed out more that something needed to be done in Metropolis.

He found a small but clean looking bar around 8pm and sat down to have a couple of drinks with Zeke. The man had made a few calls upon landing and they were meeting Patricia Swann and Dr. Swann's executive assistant in the morning.

Harry's phone rang. "Hey Chloe," Harry answered. He was pretty sure he knew how this call would go. He was sort of surprised it wasn't Clark calling him though. "What's up?"

"Where are you?" Chloe asked confused. There was a touch of exasperation in her voice.

"I'm out. What's wrong?" Harry asked. Zeke raised a curious eyebrow.

"Clark and Lana are MIA. I went to the Kent's to see if I could find anyone and found out that Clark and Lana took a LuthorCorp yet to China yesterday evening."

"Clark and Lana," Harry said slowly. "Took a LuthorCorp jet, to _China_?" He tried to articulate his thoughts into words. "What?"

"I know!" Chloe sounded confused as Hell. "I then went to find Lex to see what he had to say on this, and he's apparently out of the country as well and so is Jason."

"You think they all went on holiday without inviting us?" Harry asked, trying to work out what the hell was going on in Smallville. He'd been gone a day and things had already gone mad…

"I don't know!" Chloe told him.

"Well, I'll assure you that I'm by no means on my way, or in fact, in China."

"Well," Chloe said with a somewhat relieved breath. "I suppose that is some good news. Where are you then? I tried your house and no one's seen you."

Harry winced slightly, "The thing is, I'm in New York."

Chloe sighed, "So all my friends really did just leave Smallville and not see fit to tell me."

"I'm sorry Chloe," Harry told her, quickly trying to come up with a reason. "But, a friend of mine from when I was stayed here a month before I came to Smallville died. I took the first flight over this morning and I'm staying for the funeral."

"Oh, Harry, I'm sorry," Chloe told him. Harry knew saying what he did had been a bit of a low blow, especially after they knew he'd already lost friends. "What happened?"

Harry was feeling his headache increase great amounts as he continued to lie to his friend. "He was ill. He knew it was coming."

"Well, I'm sorry Harry. I'll let you know if I find out anything about China, alright?"

"Thanks Chloe," Harry told her with a sigh and hung up his phone before slamming his head hard down on the bar.

Zeke winced as the noise echoed around the bar. Most people turned to see what the noise was. "That," Zeke told him slowly. "Had to have hurt."

"I'm handling it fine," Harry told him, still not having moved. The barman shot Zeke and Harry a few inquisitive looks. Zeke just shook his head and ordered two more drinks.

"I'm guessing you'd rather not have told her that?" Zeke asked.

"It's bad enough that I have dead friends. It doesn't help any that I'm also _inventing_ dead friends. That on top of lying to them about _what _I am… I'm going to hell for this."

"You could just tell them about who you are and you know that it's against the law to tell people _what_ you are."

"I wanted a year without having the knowledge of what I do widespread. I plan on telling them right after we graduate and no earlier. I'm just trying to work out how much they'll hate me when I do tell them."

"Odds are they won't. You'll tell them, they'll be surprised, maybe act oddly for a little while and then, if they're good friends, they'll be fine," Zeke told him.

"And what happens if one of them kills me before the acceptance?" Harry asked. He had visions of Lois killing him for lying to her after he let the truth out.

"You expect to be assassinated by your friends?" Zeke asked curiously.

"No Zeke, only one of them."

**OoOoOoOoO**

The following day was an early start for both Harry and Zeke. They their meeting with Patricia Swann at 9am at the Swann Observatory. It was said that she wanted to meet with Harry and Zeke. Zeke had observed that this clearly meant Patricia Swann knew who Harry was.

They arrived at the observatory at 8:30am and were brought up the private rooms at the top of the building. The building was several stories taller than Marauder Tower and as it sat near the centre of the large city, it held an impressive view of the city below it. The building itself was grandeur and gave off a strong essence of power and money.

They stood outside what they both suspected was the buildings main office. It only took a few minutes before a brunette who looked to be in her mid 50's came through the double doors and walked towards them. "Thank you for coming," she greeted with a sad smile. Harry had no reason to expect any happiness around here in the recent future.

"Miss Crosby," Zeke said to her, shaking her offered hand. "Thank you for agreeing to let us come." He looked to Harry. "Harry, Bridgette Crosby, friend and Executive assistant of Dr. Swann. Miss Crosby, Harry Evans." He paused for a brief moment. "I assume you already know who he is."

"I do Ezekiel." She turned to Harry. "It's a pleasure to meet you Mr. Evans. Dr. Swann was quite impressed with your work."

Harry didn't mention that other than donate some money, he hadn't actually done anything. None the less, he shook her offered hand. "Thank you, but please, call me Harry."

She nodded and smiled. "Follow me please." She led them into the office she had just come from. Behind a desk with a lot of paper work on it was a young woman, perhaps 25 or so, with a pen. A lawyer stood behind her, pointing at different sections for her to sign. Harry was familiar with this having done so dozens of times when last in the city. She looked up as they approached. He could clearly feel her sadness when she looked him in the eye. Her eyes looked tired.

She turned to the man in the suit beside her. "Thank you," was all she said. It held the clear tone of dismissal that said she was in charge. He nodded sharply, put all the papers on the desk into a leather briefcase and left the room, closing the doors behind him. She stood from her chair and moved towards them.

Despite looking tired and her obvious sadness, she was quite beautiful. "Mr. Evans, Mr. Griffis, thank you for coming. I'm Patricia Swann."

Harry shook her hand, "It's just Harry and, whilst it should have been under better circumstances, thank you for having us here." He looked her dead in the eye, "I'm sorry about your father."

The sincerity of his condolences seemed to surprise her slightly. Harry assumed that she'd heard from plenty of people that they were sorry for her loss. To have someone mean it to her, as a daughter, not just a child of a great man, was likely new to her.

"Thank you," she said truthfully.

Zeke shook her hand as well, "He was a great man."

"He was," she told Zeke. Her reply to him was slightly less warm than Harry's although barely noticeable.

"My dad thought a great deal about your work," Patricia told them. "And he would be disappointed if his death put of the work he had planned with your company was put off by his death." There was a slight hitch in her voice when she said 'death'. "Mr. Griffis, the companies board wanted to speak with you whilst you were here for the funeral. They are free just now if you would speak with them?"

Zeke seemed slightly surprised. "Of course."

Patricia nodded. "Bridgette, could you show him to the board room?"

The woman nodded and escorted Zeke from the room. "Can I get you anything?" Patricia asked Harry.

He surveyed her for a moment without pushing into her mind. "I'm curious about why you want to speak with me."

She pointed to a chair and then sat behind her desk. Harry sat and waited. "My dad was quite interested in you and what you were doing."

"I gathered that was true," Harry told her. He could feel there was more going on here than he knew. "From what I've been told he hasn't contacted many people in a few years. Other people have started charitable foundations, so why did he contact Marauder Industries?"

"My dad paid close attention to you when Marauder Industries started. Despite most people struggling to find out who you were he knew before the company went public."

"And how did he know that?" Harry asked curiously. From what he knew, the first person to pick his name out the blackness was Lionel Luthor and that was a week after the company went public.

"Because he knew about the magic world Mr. Potter," Patricia told him.

Harry clenched his left fist casting a notice-me-not charm around the area. She had his actual name and that wasn't a good thing. He leaned forwards slightly, his expression darkening. "Oh?"

She didn't seem bothered by it. Perhaps because she just wasn't worried or perhaps it was because she didn't know exactly what magical people could do. "He spent a large portion of his life searching the skies for new life. After a few years his SWANNSTAR satellites picked up some odd signals coming from places all across this world; huge technological black spots that no one could explain."

"He discovered it by accident?" Harry asked, seeing no reason to deny anything yet. She knew about the magic world and she'd called him Potter so he'd see where this went.

"With the money he donated to the government and NASA he was granted access to more information than he should have been and in late 1986 he was told the secret which he told me later on," Patricia told him.

Harry nodded. The significance of that year was not lost on him. That was the year that Voldemort had fallen for the first time. "That was quite a year for him to find out," Harry responded casually.

She nodded. "Tell me Harry, do you believe in life on other planets?" she asked.

Harry held a hand out and tilted it from side to side, showing that he wasn't sure; her question was odd but he'd go with it. "With everything that I've seen I won't discount something unless I have proof. Why?"

"When my dad discovered the magic world he was sure that magic users were part of an alien race that fell to earth years ago."

Harry smiled slightly. "A friend of mine ran a newspaper back in England. She suggested the same thing. Wonderfully insightful girl… as mad as you can get whilst still being a functional member of society, but still mad."

"Luna Lovegood from the Quibbler?" Patricia asked.

Harry leaned forward a bit more. This woman had a lot of information. He didn't sense anything he should be worrying about but he was sitting edge.

"You're quiet informed," Harry told her. "I'm curious to know just _how_ much you know about me."

"For the last couple of years my father couldn't find much," Patricia admitted.

Harry grinned to himself; she honestly had no idea what he could do then. She was playing with lightning with no idea what it did. "How about we get to the point of this?" Harry told her. "You have a lot of information that you shouldn't have, about a world that legally, you shouldn't. You also know a lot about me which could very easily get you killed if the wrong people found out. So tell, me, what do you want?"

"My father planned on meeting you and telling you what he knew once an arrangement was made between our companies. He knew you were your countries saviour and he knew that you were trying to do good here. With him, with him dead, I'm taking up his legacy and plan on continuing his work." Her could sense nothing but honesty from her.

"So you're telling me this because you want an honest start?" Harry asked, allowing himself to relax slightly.

"Yes. My father felt as though you could do good things for this world. There was more as well that he never explained to me."

"More?" Harry asked.

"From what I've found he was surprised when you moved to Smallville. He was in correspondence with Clark Kent for almost a year and he learned that you'd become friends with him."

"He knew Clark?" Harry asked. Did Swann know that Clark could do things? Did he think Clark was an alien or a wizard or what? "Why?"

"He never told me," Patricia said.

"Can you tell me why you sent Zeke from the room?" Harry asked.

"Whilst it's true that we don't want to halt negotiations, I wasn't sure how much he knew about you."

"Zeke has my trust. Did you know I was coming?"

She shook her head, "Not until your plane landed. I hadn't planned on speaking with you yet, but you were here."

Harry nodded and sat back. "You realise how dangerous knowing about me is?" Harry asked.

"I have security here that can look after me," she told him.

"You could call your security now and they wouldn't even try enter the room. They wouldn't have since you mentioned my last name."

"I admit that I don't know as much as I should about your world, but I didn't see you do anything."

Harry smiled slightly, "The mark of a good magician. You might want to increase your security."

"And what can I do to defend against wizards?" she asked.

"I have a security force at Marauder Tower. We'll see what our company negotiations settle on and have something arranged afterwards. Your safety and your mind is my concern now with what you know." There was the temptation to obliviate the knowledge of him from her mind, but if her father had been telling her about the magic world for years, he wouldn't be able to erase that. Added to the fact that he didn't know what, or anything that she had written down or recorded on her computer systems, he couldn't erase everything without attempting to crash every computer in this building.

"Incentive for our agreement to go well?" Patricia asked with a small smile.

"You have information in your head that is easily extracted and that people would kill for. I'd rather that not get out."

She nodded her head.

**OoOoOoOoO**

He sat and made small talk with Patricia for an hour before Zeke was done. Harry acknowledge for Zeke not to speak until they got outside. They stepped into a black car outside the Swann building. Zeke shut the door and turned to Harry. "Alright, what happened back there? I felt a strong divide and conquer vibe when I was asked to leave."

"How'd you're meeting go?" Harry asked.

"It went well. With everything we've achieved so far they want to be part of it."

"Well, Patricia knows who I am," Harry told the man.

Zeke nodded, "I gathered that when she asked you to stay behind with her."

Harry shook his head, "She knows I'm Harry Potter."

Both eyebrows lifted, "That's difficult information to get."

Harry nodded, "Swann apparently found out about the magic world back in late '86 and has been keeping a subtle eye on it since. He's past this information down."

"What does she plan on doing with it?" Zeke asked.

"To be honest with me. More than just the Foundation caught Swann's eye. She mentioned my living in Smallville interested him." He didn't mention Clark to Zeke. He hadn't before and had no plans on doing so now.

"What do you want to do?" Zeke asked.

"I want someone from our security force to keep an eye on her. I want them out of sight at all times. I mentioned that if we strike a deal between the companies we can see to actually assigning some magical capable security to her, but for now I don't want her knowing. At the very least she needs protected."

"You prefer this over obliviation?" Zeke asked.

"She's known in some way or another about the magic world since she was a kid. Obliviating her would be too much. For now I just want her watched and to make sure she doesn't do anything she shouldn't." He sighed. "Both Swann's have had this information since I turned up."

"I'll get it sorted for you."

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was early Monday evening that Harry arrived back in Smallville. As funerals go, it went well. Powerful people from all across the world had attended. There was a noticeable media presence around which caused Harry to stay in the background for most of the day, lest he be seen on TV. He'd rather not have to explain to his friends why he was at Virgil Swann's funeral.

He'd also received a phone call on Sunday evening from Chloe to inform him that Clark, Lana Jason and Lex had returned from China and mentioned very little about what had actually happened. She did mention that Clark seemed down and that Lana seemed quite worried about something that she wouldn't talk about.

It made him all the more eager to return back to Smallville.

Two members of his security team turned up in New York early Monday morning for their job of guarding and monitoring Patricia Swann. With the progress that had been made in cooperation from Swann Communications, their job, unless they wanted to continue afterwards, would be short.

Back in Smallville he returned home only for a shower before Apparating to Lana's. He would speak with Clark as well but it was likely that whatever was bothering Clark would be more complicated. All he knew about the China situation was that Lana _hadn't_ cheated on Jason with Clark. Chloe had asked that question after both teens came back into the country acting oddly.

He knocked on the door to the Talon apartment and Lana answered quickly. "Lana," Harry greeted with a smile as she opened the door.

"Harry, I didn't know you were back. Come in." Harry walked into the apartment. "Chloe told me about your friend. I'm so sorry."

Harry held back a wince at the repeat of his earlier lie. "Thanks Lana. How was China?" Hopefully she wouldn't mention any more of New York.

She sighed heavily, "It was… interesting."

Harry took a seat, "Define interesting." Interesting in his definition likely topped most peoples, but Lana seemed to attract supernatural problems.

"I was possessed again," Lana told him.

"Isobel came back?" Harry asked quickly, leaning forwards. "What the hell happened in China?" He paused. "_Why_ were you in China?"

"It's a long story," Lana warned him.

"I'm listening."

Lana explained how Jason had called saying he was on an overseeing trip to Metropolis for his new employer Lex Luthor. She told Harry how she had gone to Luthor Manor and how Lionel Luthor had said that Jason was in China with Lex. Lionel had then given her a map to a stone that Countess Theroux had been searching for before being burnt at the stake. Clark had found her packing and insisted on going with her.

Once in China they met up with a guide that Lionel had arranged for her and they were taken to the Chinese temple indicated on the map. "When we got to the template we were chased by guards. Our guide was shot before we really knew what was happening," Lana told him. Harry just nodded, having let Lana just speak. "The guards captured me. The last thing I can remember was being tied to an electric chair and a lot of pain."

"They tortured you?" Harry asked, struggling to keep calm. A trip to Shanghai was sounding like a good idea just now; an eye for an eye was a good philosophy.

"I don't think it lasted long. I barely remember it. The next thing I knew I was waking up in the room I was captured in with Jason beside me."

"You remembered nothing again?" Harry asked. For what it was worth, that was probably a good thing.

Lana shook her head, clearly frustrated, "I wish I did."

"It's probably a good thing you didn't," Harry told her. "When I met her she was ruthless. Not feeling her presence is probably a good thing. Is the tattoo gone?" Harry asked, regarding the runic symbol that had practically been branded on her lower back.

"No. It's still there." The worry was clear in her voice. "I have to wonder if it will just keep happening until Isobel fully takes control."

Harry swore under his breath. He needed to do something about this now. He hadn't been sure where to start before but knowing that he had a large accumulation of books from Dark families, there had to be something on Horcruxes there. He had gotten hold of the Malfoy Family Grimoires and their family tree a few weeks ago, he have to see what more he could find now.

"What were you told about what Isobel did?" Harry asked.

"Jason and Lex told me that when I was electrocuted Isobel took over almost immediately and broke free."

"And how she was knocked out?" Harry asked. It was likely Clark had something to do with it, but asking these things was always a good idea.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Clark and I were both knocked out and woke up at the same time. Clark said the last thing he remembered before waking up, was that Isobel was using magic. He thinks she might have screwed up."

Harry nodded, inwardly doubting that. When he had met Isobel, whilst she was extremely confident, bordering on arrogant, her behaviour was almost justified by her power and control. She didn't screw up a spell. Clark had knocked her out. How he ended up unconscious was another question though.

"There was some stone that Lex and Jason were looking for, but it was gone when Clark and I woke up. Apparently Isobel found it when she possessed me."

"A stone?" Harry asked. Was it a similar stone to the other two that Clark had? If it had vanished from sight then Clark had gotten it. So did he have all three now? Had he united them? Whilst Harry trusted Clark to do the right thing, the teenager was naive. Did he know what those stones did? He'd need to talk with Clark about it.

"I think that's why Lex and Jason were there. It was the first thing Lex said when I regained consciousness; he asked Clark if he had the stone."

"Must be quite valuable if Lex and Isobel were after it," Harry commented. "Makes you wonder what it does."

"I'm not sure I want to know," Lana told him.

Harry nodded. "What did it look like?"

Lana looked at him oddly for a moment before the look faded, "I'm not sure."

"Right," Harry muttered. "Of course you didn't. So, I understand Jason was in China and you wanted answers from him, but why did you _go_ to China to confront him? Why not wait until he got back?"

"We said that we'd search the Countess together and he just left me out of the loop. If I waited for him to get back he would just have denied ever going. I only had Lionel Luthor's word that he was there and I wanted to be sure."

"And why was he there? Why did he lie?"

Lana sighed, "I've not spoken to him yet. Clark and I took the LuthorCorp jet back. Lex and Jason travelled their own ways. He should be home soon."

Harry stood up, "Then I'll leave you to it Lana." He eyed her carefully, "Are you sure you're handling this alright? I know what its like to feel as though you have no control."

Lana took a deep breath. "I think I'll be alright. I have people looking out for me."

Harry nodded. He hadn't done much to look out for her regarding this, but he'd do more now. "Call me if you need to talk."

"Thanks Harry," Lana told him with a smile.

He nodded and left her apartment. Upon leaving the Talon he pulled out his phone and held down '5' on his phone. "Alexander Black's office," Jenny answered.

"How are you Jenny?" Harry asked, making his way to the Talon back-alley.

"Oh, Harry. Things are fine. What have you got for me?"

"You know how you got me those details on the Malfoy family a few weeks back?"

"Yeah. Do you need more?" she asked.

"Sort of. I need every book in that darker collection that refers to… horcruxes, possession, necromancy or... blood magic."

"That's… nasty stuff," Jenny warned.

"I know. Something odd is happening here and I need to sort this out."

"You want me to call someone to help you with this? There are a few people in the directory that could."

Harry considered for a second. "No. It's best if no one else knows what's happening here. Can you get me those books?"

"Of course Harry. I'll call you when I have them."

"Thank you Jenny."

He hung up and Apparated straight to the Kent farm. He checked Clark's barn first, knowing he'd more than likely be in there. He found Clark sitting on the couch on the upper floor. He held a small silver octagon. "Souvenir from China?" Harry asked as he reached the top landing. Clark, having been lost in his own little world, jumped upon hearing him. Harry noticed that Clark quickly moved the metal octagon out of sight.

"No," Clark told him. "Just a keepsake."

"Sure," Harry told him, not really buying it. "Lana tells me you had a fun trip in China."

"I wouldn't call it fun."

"I think the word Lana used was… interesting. What happened?"

"She told you about being possessed again?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded, "I'm fairly sure she's caught me up on the little details. What I want to know is what you did. Lana's story had holes in it though."

Clark sighed, "What do you want to know?"

"How did you stop Isobel?" Harry asked, leaning against a support beam.

"Did Lana tell you about the stone?" Clark asked. Harry nodded. "Isobel had it and we were fighting. I managed to get the stone away from her and the last thing I remember before waking up was both of us trying to grab the stone at the same time."

Harry nodded. The stones were an unknown entity and clearly magical. He had no way of knowing what they did or how they would react to people touching them. The stones in the cave had given him a feeling that said he shouldn't touch them.

"So it's in the cave with the others then?" Harry asked.

"What?" Clark asked, alarmed.

"The other two stones you have. I'm guessing the one from China is the third to complete the set."

"How do you know about the cave?" Clark asked. He sounded worried.

"Last time Lana was possessed I caught up with them in those caves. There was a hidden part of the cave that Isobel found. We were thrown out when Isobel's book was destroyed. I went back later and saw the stone you took after the prison incident."

Clark seemed at a loss for words. "And you didn't mention anything?" he asked, not understanding.

Harry shrugged, "You have your secrets, I have mine. I didn't see the need to pry."

"Oh," Clark muttered. "Well, thanks I suppose."

"I want to know if you've combined the three stones though," Harry told him.

Clark shook his head. "When I woke up the third stone was gone. I have no idea what happened to it. It just… vanished."

"You know what these stones do, don't you?" Harry asked uncertainly.

Clark winced. "You know how you didn't want to pry?"

Reluctantly, Harry nodded and backed down. Whilst he wanted to know he respected the fact that people had things to hide. "I won't mention it again Clark. Let me know if you need help though."

"Yeah. Thanks Harry."

They remained silent for a moment. Harry was very tempted to ask about Clark's connection with Virgil Swann. If no one here knew there was something supernaturally special about Clark, how did Swann? Did Swann even know or was there something else? Was it something to do with the stones that Clark was collecting?

Harry had a lot of theories, each madder than the next, but he put off asking. Asking meant prying and he had just told Clark he wouldn't do that. He'd just have to see what he could find by himself.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	25. Cunning

**AN:** _Sorry about the really long delay in this. I went on holiday and, whilst I was away, my muse vanished. It took me a while to start writing again and when I did I completely rewrote the chapter, unsure of which one to post. Reading the long version of this chapter gave my Beta a migraine, so I decided to go with this one. Don't know what I'll do with the other._

_Well, I hope you enjoy the chapter._

**Chapter 25 – Cunning**

_(Thursday March 3rd, 2005)_

Harry laid on his bed, drenched in sweat, breathing heavily with a huge smile on his. To say he was pleased and elated beyond measure would have been a considerable understatement. He sat up and ran two hands through his wet hair, pushing it back and away from his eyes. Despite feeling as though he'd been in a four hour duel, he was ready to try again. He took a deep breath and eagerly readied himself for the repeat performance.

He closed his eyes, clearing his mind from all external stimulants, built up his magic and pushed outward with it. He ignored the odd feeling, similar, but subtly different to Apparition as he continued. The sensation lasted for 4 minutes before it stopped and Harry allowed himself to relax.

He looked around the room in wonder. It was quite something how big the world looked when you were 20 inches tall.

He took a few tentative steps forward, quickly finding his centre of gravity. He stretched out his wings, testing to see how easy it would be. It came instinctually.

Ten minutes before Harry had finally and successfully managed to transform into his animagus form of a Peregrine Falcon. The transformation had been difficult and he'd been quite sure he was going to pass out during it. Thankfully, he had remained conscious.

With the strain the transformation had put him through he had immediately transformed back into his human form. The attempt had taken a lot out of him and he wanted to be sure he could reverse it. It had difficult, but he had managed on his first attempt.

He was now officially an animagus; not that he was going to register as one.

The second transformation had been far easier than the first and now he felt the need to try out his new form. The urge to fly was very strong, but he knew his body was fragile like this and plummeting from his bedroom in an attempt to fly would not be a good way to start his achievement. Despite having never flown before, he felt that he could do it. It seemed that the knowledge was almost instinctual whilst in falcon form.

He spread his wings and brought them hard, rising a few inches from the ground. A second flap raised him higher. He kept going upwards until the ceiling began to get too close. He allowed himself to descent slowly. His head was buzzing and the temptation to try that outside was strong. He kept his mind in check, pushing down on the natural instincts his animal seen to have.

He spent half an hour inside his locked and silenced room testing out what limited actions he could do in an enclosed space. Flying from one end of the room to another was easy enough that he now felt confident enough to attempt the flight outside without falling to his death.

He transformed back into human form again and moved over to his window. Undoing the latch, he slid the window upwards and took a step back. Concentrating again on his form he felt the world grow larger around him. The transformation only took a couple of minutes this time. He was nowhere need the level that Sirius or Professor McGonagall had been at, but he doubted they could transform as quickly as he could when they were first starting out.

He flapped his wings and perched on the window sill, looking down at the world below him. With a deep breath he beat his wings hard and left the safety of his house. He dropped slightly before he was able to compensate for the wind. It took a few minutes of confused, dizzying flight before he was sure he was now getting the hang of flight. Navigating air currents was easy in this form and they proved significantly helpful.

Soon, he was flying over Smallville as though he had been doing it all his life. Whilst broom flying had been one of his favourite hobbies, this was far more fun. It was more difficult, more physically taxing and required more focus, but overall it was far more exciting.

Wanting to try that, which in his mind, made the Peregrine so fitting for him, he beat his wings hard and quickly gained altitude. He flew higher and higher until he knew he was over a mile above the town. He spread his wings, gliding for a moment. If anything was going to kill him, this would.

Quickly he tucked his wings and talons in and dived straight down. He made his body as small as possible as he descended quickly, gaining more and more speed as he went. Soon he was travelling faster than he ever had on a broom and wasn't slowing down. Smallville got larger and larger as each second past. Below him his keen eyesight sought out numerous birds flying underneath him that this animal would usually snack on.

Knowing the small town was getting closer and that he didn't know how long it would take to stop, he spread his wings and held strong as his aerodynamic body was slowed at a rate he wouldn't have thought his new body could handle. Seeing his arrival, all the nearby birds scattered. He resisted the urge to catch one in his talons.

He continued to glide over the town. The rush from that dive had been beyond anything he had experienced before and he felt freer than he ever had. Whilst travelling the world or escaping from any situation in the blink of an eye wasn't difficult for him, soaring through the sky under his own power, his own wings, was true freedom.

Trying out some aerobatic manoeuvres that a bird of this type wouldn't usually do, he couldn't think of any reason to ever come down to earth. It was that thought that reminded him of one of the dangers of becoming an animagus. As the animal was part of you, part of your soul, being in that form would feel perfectly natural to the magic user and in some cases let to them never transforming back. According to his book a lot of people felt more comfortable in their animal form than their human one.

Whilst that currently felt true for him, he couldn't just disappear into the sky. With great reluctance he slowly descended, back to his home. He soared through his bedroom window and came to a skilful stop. He transformed slowly back into his human form and slumped onto his bed. His reverse transformation had taken just under a minute. Harry wondered how long it would take him to be able to transform fully in the time it took to jump in the air. McGonagall had been able to reverse her transformation quickly enough to jump of a desk as a cat and keep walking as her human self without pause. He would be satisfied when he could transform like that.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Later than night – 3am)_

Harry sat on his bed carefully reading one of the books Jenny had retrieved from his archive for him. Whilst she had found several books that he had asked for, details on Horcruxes were difficult to find. She had found several books on possession and necromancy as well as half a dozen on blood magic.

The possession books, whilst interesting and creepy, weren't much help. What was happening with Lana and Isobel was beyond possession.

He had spent less than ten minutes reading through the necromancy books. They started out _alright_, with minor dark curses, several of which were already part of his arsenal. He even learned a few interesting curses that were likely relatively unknown and powerful. As he continued through the books they got darker and darker and darker until Harry began feeling ill. It didn't help that whoever had created the books had taken photos of the curses working. They would have been bad enough as stills, he did not want to see the curses actually working on people.

The six books on blood magic however were fascinating. Four of the books focused on wards and protection magic. Harry had a gut feeling that Lucius Malfoy had these books due to how Privet Drive was protected. Dumbledore had told him that during his stay there, there had been several attempts made to access the property and that the perpetrator had never been caught. Harry was willing to bet Lucius had orchestrated these attempts.

The two books that weren't dedicated to protection magic were old, thick books that described numerous miscellaneous uses for such a magic branch. They were detailed and complicated to such a level that he barely understood them, but the ideas still seemed fascinating. Unfortunately the books had no index and a lot of pages, so Harry was slowly making his way through it.

He was broken from his quiet reading by a mobile phone ringing from the other side of the house. He looked curiously in the direction of the noise, wondering just who was stupid enough to call Lois at 3am. She had been back from her trip to Fort Leavenworth for two days and Harry was glad for her company again. He had known when buying this house that it was too big for what he wanted, but it hadn't felt that big until he had lived with someone for nearly a month before they went away for two weeks. He'd somewhat missed Lois' constant presence.

He couldn't hear what was being said on the phone, or even if Lois had answered the phone. He'd called her once at about 4am, completely having lost track of time at that moment and had feared castration next time he saw her. If she wasn't shouting at someone, they were either very lucky or Lois just hadn't answered the call.

He suspected the latter.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday March 5__th__, 2005)_

Harry flew into through his bedroom window, landing neatly on his bed. He transformed, still taking just under fifty seconds. In two days he had cut down his transformation time down by almost ten seconds and was immensely pleased with it. His morning run was now followed by an hour's flying and it relaxed him immensely. The feeling of gliding through the air was still euphoric to him.

He stood and pulled on a new pair of clothes. Harry opened his bedroom door and stopped just on the threshold. He could smell something cooking downstairs. He frowned as he quietly moved downstairs. Only Lois was here, or at least should be, and she knew the rules regarding cooking.

She wasn't even allowed to try.

Ever.

Not after _that_ time.

He walked into his kitchen and smiled slightly. Lois, wearing an apron was doing her best to cook breakfast and failing miserably. As was usual with the breakfasts he made on a weekend, she had tried to go for a fry up, with eggs, bacon, sausages, as well as pancakes. He could tell with just a sniff of the air that the bacon and sausages were burnt and he could see the pancakes looked as though they'd been used in a shooting gallery. He didn't want to know what the eggs looked like. He hadn't had salmonella poisoning before and he didn't want it now.

Lois, in her intense concentration hadn't noticed him. For a few moments he just stood and watched her wondering just why the hell she was cooking. He could think of a few things that would involve Lois doing this, but each seemed as farfetched as the other. He cleared his throat.

Lois jumped, startled, before she glared at him. "Jeez, Harry! We're getting you a bell to go around your neck."

"Lois," Harry said slowly. "Why are you cooking?"

"Well, I figured that as I'm using your home as my own, I might as well do something to earn my keep."

"Ok," Harry slowly drew out. That idea made sense, but this was _Lois_ saying it. This was the woman who took complete control of his house for about three weeks, and only hours after moving in. Whilst wanting to help around the house might be normal for most people, it wasn't for Lois. She wanted something. "So where did you hide the body?" Harry asked casually.

"Body? What body?" Lois asked oddly.

"I'm assuming that whilst I was asleep you killed someone and need help disposing of the evidence. So who was it? It wasn't Clark was it?"

Lois rolled her eyes, "I didn't kill anyone, although your smart-ass comments make it tempting. I'm just trying to be nice."

"You are nice Lois, now, what do you want?" Harry asked, taking a seat and hesitantly biting into a pancake. They tasted better than they looked, even though they were questionable at best.

"Well, it's kind of hard to ask for yet another favour after everything you've done for me... But, um, I," Lois managed to get out. She was cut off as his front door opened. He glanced quickly to the front of the house and then back to Lois. Of his friends Lois was the only one who invited herself into the house without knocking. As she was standing in front of him, it wasn't her. Before he reacted he caught Lois' wince and knew that whoever had just come through the front door was what she was nervous about.

"Lo? Anybody home?" a female voice called through the house.

Lois glanced apologetically at Harry before quickly moving towards the voice. Harry sighed and followed her, wondering just what Lois had gotten into now. He saw Lois hug a smaller girl and quietly greet her. As they parted Harry recognised the girl from photo's Lois had put up around the house.

Lois glanced towards him, "Harry, um... meet my sister Lucy. She was kind of hoping she could crash here for a couple days."

He glanced at Lois for a moment with a raised eyebrow. She looked quite uncomfortable. He smiled slightly and turned back to Lois' younger sister.

"I know its last minute, but I had this school break, and I'm willing to sleep on a floor," Lucy told him with a smile.

Lucy Lane, Lois' seventeen years old sister, was almost the same height as Lois, perhaps slightly less than an inch shorter. Her hair was long and straight, slightly darker than Lois' was. She had a large, pretty smile and was beautiful like her sister. All in all, they looked very much like sisters when they stood side by side. Harry smiled back at her. "Forgive me, but Lois hadn't mentioned you were coming." He glanced at Lois again before turning back to Lucy, "And you're welcome to stay. I even have a spare bedroom."

"It's a beautiful house," Lucy said.

Harry shrugged, "It's alright. Now, we were about to have breakfast. Are you hungry?"

"Please!" Lucy said, her smile widening. "I've had nothing to eat but airplane food for almost a day."

"Come on then," Harry said, leading them back to the kitchen. From there he began cleaning up the mess that Lois made and starting on a _cooked_ breakfast. Lucy shot him an enquiring look. "Your sister tried to cook," Harry told her with a smile that Lucy returned. Lois glared at him.

"You can cook?" Lucy asked. He sensed the slightest feeling of attraction from her.

"I'm hardly a chef, but I get by," he told her, opening a new packet of bacon.

"So you're Harry?" Lucy asked.

He looked at her oddly for a moment before realising that he hadn't introduced himself. He smiled sheepishly at her and held out a hand, "Harry Evans."

Her smile didn't dim even slightly as she gently shook his hand, "Lucy Lane." Something in that back of Harry's consciousness told him to be careful of this girl. He shook away the feeling; he was being paranoid.

"Well, it's good to finally meet you," Harry told her. "Lois mentions you quite often."

"She does?" Lucy asked. There was a note of surprise in her voice. Harry sensed a lot of battling emotions inside her mind.

"I am here you know," Lois told them, put out a being ignored.

"Sorry Lois," Harry told her. He turned to Lucy again, "So you have a break from school?"

She nodded, "Just for the weekend, but I haven't seen my big sister in a while and took the opportunity."

Harry sensed a lie there but couldn't quite pick up what it was. He found that odd. "So you're in school in Switzerland if I remember correctly?" Harry asked.

She nodded, "An all girls school, yeah."

"What do you think of boarding school?" Harry asked. He had met plenty of people from boarding schools before, but never from a non-magical one.

"It's alright. It's good to get away every once in a while though. Being in an all girl school gets a bit much."

Harry laughed, "I loved boarding school."

"You went to one?" she asked, surprised.

"Back in Scotland," Harry told her. "I've only been here since September."

With the food made, he divided it up into three and they began to eat. Harry sat watching the interaction between the two sisters as they talked and caught up. There was _something_ happening here that he couldn't see, but without pushing into Lucy's mind he wasn't sure. He could just be being paranoid, but the more the two girls talked, the less sure he was. Whilst Lucy seemed bright, open and happy when talking to Lois, the emotions and feelings he got from her were contrasting. He could feel resentment and anger directed towards her older sister. There was also a feeling of anticipation that he couldn't quite place. She seemed to be two different people and it left him uneasy. All he knew just now was that she wasn't possessed.

Breakfast was eaten quickly. "Well, I'm just gonna go wash off four time zones' worth of airport connections. Do you mind if I use your shower?" Lucy asked.

Harry shook his head, "Upstairs, second door on the left." Lucy stood up and made towards the kitchen door.

"Lucy? Are you sure everything's okay?" Lois asked. Her voice was clearly concerned. Apparently she'd picked up on something odd as well.

"Now that I'm here with you, it's perfect," Lucy told her sister with a smile before heading out of the room and up the stairs. Something about how she said that bothered Harry and he told himself to keep an eye on her whilst she was here. Lois sad down and Harry could tell she was feeling uneasy.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Lois said slowly. "It's just weird seeing her again."

"So how did this come about then?"

"She called me two nights ago and just told me she was stopping by. Hung up before I could argue."

Harry laughed slightly, "I wonder who she gets that from?"

Lois glared at him, "I'm not that bad." Harry gave her a disbelieving look. Lois sighed slightly with a small, but pleased smile, "Ok, so I might be."

"She seems nice," Harry told her.

Lois rolled her eyes, "She was always the General's perfect daughter."

There was definitely a strong sibling rivalry between the two. "Perfect is over-rated," Harry told her. "So what is the deal between you two?" Whilst Harry had known about Lucy since practically the first time he'd talked to Lois, she was rarely a topic of discussion. Lois received sporadic phone calls from her and none last very long. All Lois would really mention was how proud she was of Lucy.

Whilst Lois was intelligent in hidden way, Lucy was the opposite. From what Lois had told him, her sister was fluent in three languages, a straight-A student as well as playing classical violin for a prestigious youth orchestra in Europe. Lucy was a bragging topic for Lois. Seeing them together showed everything in a different light that he didn't understand.

"She's my sister and I love her, but that doesn't mean we have to like each other," Lois told him.

"You don't _like _your sister?" Harry asked, surprised. Lois had never mentioned this before.

"She's the one not crazy about me," Lois said. "Not that I blame her."

"Why?" Harry asked, still not understanding. "Sure, you can be a bit blunt at times, but why wouldn't she like you?"

"When my mother died," Lois said with a sigh. "My dad had two girls he didn't know how to deal with. So he did what every good military leader would do. He instituted a chain of command," Lois told him.

"And you reported to him and Lucy to you," Harry finished for her. "That... can't have been easy."

"Yeah. It takes sibling rivalry to a whole new level."

"You had to be her mum," Harry concluded. He could see how that would make things difficult for siblings. If, and heaven forbid, that had happened at the Dursley's and Dudley, being four months older than him, was put in charge, he would have by no means survived. Still, he didn't think Lois would have been that bad in the role, but, it had happened over ten years ago.

"Yeah, except I was not prepared," Lois said with a small smile. "I used to give her advice like, you know, don't kiss a boy or you're gonna get pregnant. And, yeah, maybe she had a few more chores than most kids."

"I think it's safe to assume that I had more," Harry said before deciding he didn't want to go down that road. "You were _two_ years older than her Lois," Harry said quickly, getting away from the subject of _his _relatives. "You should never have been _put_ in that situation. She seems to be a very nice, smart girl, so you obviously didn't do too badly, all things given."

"Yeah, I guess. But you try being nine years old and telling your seven year old sister that it's her bed time."

"It was difficult?" Harry asked with a small smile.

Lois chuckled, "She had the biggest tantrums imaginable at times."

"I can't imagine you'd have back down from that," Harry told her.

Lois laughed, "We had some screaming matches, but it all sort of worked out in the end." She looked at Harry curiously, "You grew up with your cousin didn't you? What was that like?"

Harry mentally cursed that Lois had brought the conversation back to him. He looked at Lois for a long moment, weighting the pro's and con's of answering that. The standard rule around Harry was not mention his 'relatives', but Lois, like most things, was the exception to the rule. Every now and then she'd ask a small question or make a small comment. She had been the one to tell him that talking about his problems would help, and he really hadn't been doing that.

"He was like a miniature version of his father," Harry told her, not deeming to call Vernon, 'Uncle.' "He'd been taught since the moment I was dropped at their doorstop that I was a freak and deserved to be treated as such. You know I slept in a cupboard until I was eleven, right?" Lois nodded. "He had two bedrooms; one to sleep in and one to keep all his broken toys. He loved that." Harry smiled slightly, "His parents told the neighbours that I went to '_St. Brutus's Secure Centre for Incurably Criminal Boys.' _Ironically, that was where they sent him after his parents were arrested."

"What did he do?" Lois asked.

"He stabbed one of the policemen that was trying to restrain my Uncle when they arrested him," Harry told her with a shake of his head.

"Well, he got what he deserved then," Lois told him, not really sure what to say to that. "And you didn't turn out so badly yourself."

"Thanks Lois," Harry said with a roll of his eyes. "So," Harry said brightly, eager to change the subject. "What are your plans for Lucy being here?"

Lois laughed slightly, "Plans? I was going to tell her not to turn up before she hung up on me. Plus, there isn't exactly much to do in this dead-beat town anyway."

"This town isn't that bad," Harry chastised Lois. "And you obviously don't think so either or you'd be gone from here."

Lois rolled her eyes, "Just because I _might_ enjoy your company sometimes does _not_ mean I like this town. I'd be more than happy in the city with a Starbucks."

Harry shook his head, "This town has charm. I would like to say it's peaceful, but we both know that would be a lie."

Lois snorted, "You've got about as much chance of being mugged here as you do in the City."

Harry nodded, agreeing with her point. "So you'll give Lucy the tour of the town?" Harry asked.

"Can't," Lois said, without much disappointment. "I've got my first shift at the Talon today."

"Right, so you do. I'll be sure to come by and order the most complicated thing they serve."

Lois shot him a glare, "It'll be the last thing you do."

Harry laughed, "I'll risk it."

Lois ignored him this time, "I'll see if I can draft Chloe into showing the brat around."

"I'll do it," Harry volunteered quickly; too much so for Lois' liking.

"Oh?" Lois asked, an eyebrow raised.

Harry nodded, "Imagine the stories she must have about you that you'd never tell. I couldn't think of a better way to spend a day." Lois shot him a dirty look that he shrugged off, "Don't tell me you didn't see that coming." Spending more time with Lucy would also give him a better chance to work out the odd feeling her got from her. He knew to trust his instincts and they told him to be careful around her.

"Fine, just, look after her, alright?" Lois asked, sounding like a caring sister again.

Harry nodded, "Sure. You know I will."

"Yeah, I know."

Harry nodded and rotated his left arm, cracking it loudly. Something else occurred to him, "Lois, thanks for trying with the breakfast this morning. I do appreciate it."

Lois shot him a smile; one of the shyer ones he rarely saw.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Lucy's shower had lasted a little over half an hour, conclusively proving that she was similar to her sister in more than looks. Twenty minutes after her shower she was back downstairs, apparently rejuvenated from her flight. In the time that it took Lucy to shower and get ready, Lois had already left for her first shift at the Talon, under the 'iron rule' of Martha Kent as she called it.

Lucy came down the stairs and looked around in confusion at the lack of her sister. "Where'd Lois go?" she asked as she entered the lounge.

Harry put down his book and looked up as she entered, "She starts work today at the local coffee shop. She didn't want to be late and promised to see you later."

"Oh, alright," Lucy said with a big smile that said she didn't mind particularly much. "She trusted me with you?" she asked, a slightly hint of surprise in her voice, that was almost masked. She took a seat opposite him.

"I'd say yes. She's protective of you?" Harry asked, already suspecting she was.

Lucy rolled her eyes, "I know it's a sisterly thing to do, but she needs to relax some more."

"She seems to be looking out for you," Harry told her. "So, do you have any plans for whilst you're here, or are you just winging it?" he asked.

"Winging it sounds good," Lucy told him with a smile. "I'm all yours." Harry raised an eyebrow at the last comment. He'd have to have been an idiot to miss seductive undertone. "How about you give me the guided tour?"

Harry pushed himself to his feet. "It's not much of a tour," he told her. "But I'll show you the town if you want."

"Great," Lucy told him. "Just let me get a coat." She disappeared upstairs for a minute before returning with a light weight jacket.

"You found a room then?" Harry asked.

"I hope you don't mind," Lucy said. "I poked around a few rooms until I found the empty one."

Pleased that she obviously hadn't tried opening his 'locked room' he waved it off. With his own curiosity of things, it would have been hypocritical to say anything. "It's no worry. Now, how are you with motorbikes?" Harry asked as he beckoned her outside.

"You have one?" Lucy asked excitedly.

Harry nodded, "I don't have a car, so it's good you don't mind."

"I stayed on a farm with a friend of mine last spring break and her brother showed me how to ride one. It was a dirt bike, but it was still fun."

"Alright then," Harry said, quite pleased to finally have someone _enjoy_ a motorcycle. He lead her round the back of his house where the shed his bike was in was kept. He picked up a black crash helmet and threw it to Lucy.

"You're not wearing one?" she asked curiously, pulling the helmet on without hesitation.

"No. I won't fall off and if I do, I've survived worse." He straddled the bike and waited for Lucy to get on. She sat behind him and wrapped her arms around him, holding them a bit lower than he was particularly comfortable with. He shook his head, ridding himself of thoughts and urges before slowly driving the bike away, keeping his speed fast, but within reason.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"No, it was great fun," Harry told Lucy as they walked to the Talon. He had given her the tour of the small town and that hadn't taken particularly long. Whilst Smallville was a nice town, there _really_ wasn't all that much to see. A quick stop at the school after the tour of the note-worthy parts of the town saw them running into Chloe who hadn't seen her younger cousin in years. Harry slipped into the background as they caught up. It didn't take long for the conversation to move onto Lois' new job and the desire to see and mock her.

"You went to school in a castle. I can guess that would be more exciting than just a normal boarding school," Lucy told him. The topic was their boarding schools and Harry couldn't really understand how Lucy didn't enjoy boarding school. Despite everything that had happened at Hogwarts, despite the times his life was at risk, it was still his favourite place to have been and he couldn't imagine doing anything else.

"You never tried exploring it at night?" Harry asked.

"As if," Lucy told him. "We got caught moments after leaving our dorms."

"So did we if we weren't careful, but we got by. Although, I'm betting you didn't have to avoid a demon cat as well as teachers."

"Demon cat?" Chloe asked oddly.

Harry turned to face her, "Our caretaker had a cat called Mrs. Norris who seemed to be psychic and found you no matter where in the castle you were. It was a running game to try and lock the cat in a suit of armour, but it was too quick."

"That's horrible!" Chloe told him. Her small smile said that she wasn't as horrified as she sounded.

"Not if you knew the cat," Harry muttered.

"What happened to Mr. Norris?" Lucy asked.

Harry laughed, "There was a running suspicion that our caretaker's _real_ last name was '_Norris_', but due to the mental image that created, it wasn't spoken about often."

The girls made disgusted faces. They reached the front door of the coffee house and Harry held the door open for the girls. His eyes immediately sought out Lois. She was muttering to herself, walking towards the coffee bar. He smiled slightly as he watched her. She looked quite cute in her apron.

He stopped mid-step, shaking that thought away. His eyes left Lois and he glanced around the room, spotting Clark and Lex Luthor loitering around. The trio approached them.

"Hey cuz!" Chloe called to Lois as she past them. She ignored them and kept on her route. She was clearly frustrated and Harry was working out just how much he could annoy her and get away with.

"It's kind of like a free floor show," Clark commented, showing that his sole reason for being here was to watch Lois make a spectacle out of herself. "Have you two been catching up?" he asked Chloe and Lucy.

Harry excused himself as the group talked. He wasn't particularly comfortable hanging out with the group when Lex was around. It wasn't that he had anything against Lex, it was just that Lex clearly knew who he was and Harry was unsure why he hadn't said anything, to either himself or Clark and his friends. He had Zeke quietly looking into it, but so far the man had found nothing.

He moved over to Lois who was behind the Talon counter, making a cup of coffee, still muttering to herself. "Hey Lois," Harry greeted with a small smile.

She glanced behind her, "What's wrong with regular black coffee?"

Harry blinked at the odd greeting. "Er, it's regular and black?" Harry half asked having the feeling that Lois didn't really _want_ him to answer. Her sour look confirmed his theory. "Right," Harry said, half to himself. "Not helping. How's the shift going?" he asked.

"It could be better but at the same, could be worse," Lois told him, placing the latte on a tray. "How are things going with the brat?" Lois asked.

Harry rolled his eyes at the nickname for Lucy. "She likes my motorbike so she's official my best friend now," Harry told her with a smile. "No, she's doing fine; nice and chatty." Lois absently nodded and reached into the muffin stands and spent a few minutes trying to work out which one the customer had asked for.

"What are you looking for?" Harry asked as Lois struggled.

"Blueberry muffin top, hold the stem," Lois muttered.

From his side of the counter he saw it easier. He tapped the glass protective screen. "That one," he told her.

"Thanks." Lois pulled the muffin out and placed it on the tray by the coffee.

"What is that anyway?" Harry asked pointing at the coffee that seemed to have thoroughly annoyed Lois.

"Half-half soy latte, no foam, no whip," Lois recited.

Harry laughed, "That is one pretentious cup of coffee."

Lois smiled slightly, "I know. I've been getting these sort of orders all morning."

"Well, when you've got a spare minute I'll have a small regular black coffee to go," Harry told her. "I fear I'll need it with two Lane's around."

Lois rolled her eyes again and picked up the tray. She moved round the counter and headed towards the customers table. A few steps in she stopped and turned back to Harry, "Why are you following me?"

Harry shrugged, "Nothing else to do."

She glanced towards where Clark stood and turned back to Harry, "You really don't like Lex do you?" she asked rhetorically. "Not that I can blame you though. He's not exactly big on welcoming the new kids."

"It's not that I don't like him, It's just, I don't know," Harry told her, unable to tell her why being around Lex made him uneasy.

"Well..." Lois said but stopped as she stumbled. Reacting with the skills that made him such a good Seeker back in his Hogwarts days both hands shot forward, grabbing the tray Lois had been carrying milliseconds before. Some of the coffee spilled over the side of the mug, but other than that the order was fine. Lois managed to stand and act like nothing out of the ordinary had happened, despite the fact that Harry now held her tray. He caught sight of a few impressed looks from people seated nearby.

"Thanks," Lois told him gratefully. "That was coming out of my pay-cheque otherwise."

Harry shrugged, albeit pleased that his reactions were as sharp as ever. He handed her the tray. "Just be careful with that. I might not be around to catch it next time." He grinned at her and she ignored him, turning to the customer she was meant to be serving. His attention was caught by a relatively new familiar face standing at the Talon doorway, dressed solely in black. The man was staring unblinkingly at the back of Lucy's head. The younger girl took no notice of him but Clark quickly did. Harry saw Clark say something quietly to Lucy and the man in black vanished quickly, moments before Lucy turned in that direction.

Harry stared at the spot where the man had stood thinking about where he'd seen his face for the first time.

His early suspicions that Lucy was trouble had been confirmed very quickly during his tour of the town with her. At first it had just been an odd feeling from her that his legilimancy absently picked up on. Whilst his control over mind magic was getting stronger recently, it required a small amount of constant concentration to stay completely out of another person's mind. It was taxing to keep it going for extended periods of time, but now he no longer got random flashes of memories or emotions that he once did. He couldn't read surface thoughts yet, but his skill was increasing.

He had allowed himself to look into Lucy's mind though. After spending a couple of hours with her, he decided that there was _something_ he needed to look into. He had asked her again what she planned to do in Smallville and memories of plans emerged.

During her stay in Switzerland she had run into a loan shark and criminal by the name of Marcus Becker. Lucy, being an adventurous and rebellious girl talked with the man. Becker, upon finding out that Lucy's sister was friends with a good friend of Lex Luthor, began planning. Harry had a good idea of what was going to happen and had spent most of the morning working out a counter plan. His first instinct had been to just confront Lucy about it; warn her away from Smallville and to move her con someplace else.

He had decided though, for the time being, to let things run their course. As well as the plan to steal $50,000 dollars from LuthorCorp, a lot of this had to do with Lucy's grudge against her sister. For a reason Harry couldn't work out, Lucy held a _large_ amount of resentment towards her Lois. Nothing from what he got from Lucy, or from what Lois told him about their relationship left him any closer. Out of respect for Lois, he was going to let this situation carry on as Lucy planned it, observing the entire thing out of sight. A tracking charm had been placed on Lucy and Harry would keep a careful eye on her.

There was more information he wanted though. He glanced around and saw that Lois had abandoned him to continue working. He moved outside. Leaning against the outside Talon wall he pulled out his phone and dialled Marauder Tower. "Alexander Black's office," his assistant Jenny answered.

"Morning Jenny," Harry greeted.

"Morning Harry. How are you?" Jenny asked.

I'm doing alright, but I'm in another one of my odd situations."

"Did you start this one?" she asked.

"No, this one literally walked into my house actually," Harry told her with a bit of a laugh. Why did this keep happening to him?

"So what do you need then?" she asked. Harry could hear her typing at her computer.

"See what you can find for me on Marcus Becker," Harry asked. "He's a loan shark in Switzerland."

"And not one of the nice ones," Jenny told him. "But I suspect you know that already or you wouldn't have called me."

"Yeah, I did. I'm surprised you know though," Harry told her.

"Simple enough," she said. "You own seven percent of LuthorCorp and Becker's name appears every so often in their 'failed acquisitions' section of their reports."

"A sort list I'm guessing," Harry mused. LuthorCorp was well known for getting what it wanted.

Jenny hummed in agreement. Harry could hear her typing quickly. "Very short, although, it appears to be getting longer for some reason. Something to do with this other company that appeared, as if by magic."

Harry smiled slightly, "Fancy that. So, is there anything interesting you can tell me about Becker?" Harry asked.

"Just bare with me," Jenny told him absently as she typed.

"So," Harry said after a minute, feeling odd being on the phone and not talking. "What's new with you?"

"Oh, my offer for the new flat was accepted," Jenny told him happily whilst still typing.

"Oh?" Harry asked with a smile.

"Yeah, it's a really nice two bedroom flat only a couple of miles from the office. It's much, much bigger than the one Rachel and I where in."

"Well, that's good to hear."

"Yeah. Rachel can't quite decide who she loves more just now; me for getting the job or you for giving me the job."

"It should be you. You were nice to me when I was just a nineteen year old coming into the building at odd hours for odd amounts of time. If you hadn't spoken to me, as both Harry and Alex, I wouldn't have noticed you and I'd have hired someone boring." Harry paused for a second. "_What_ does she know about me?" he asked curiously.

He mentally pictured Jenny shrugging, "She knows I work for _'Mr. Marauder' _and that I've met him, but doesn't know that it's you and he are the same person."

"She's not annoyed you won't tell her?" Harry asked curiously.

"I told her that I was under an oath and she knows a little bit about them. I will mention that she's trust worthy and that I would like to let her know. She said she'd sign the same oath."

Harry could hear in Jenny's voice that she really did want to tell her sister. He knew they were close and he remembered how he hated keeping Order secrets from those not in the loop. Hell, he was keeping dozens of secrets from his friends here and he hated that. In his situation, he saw the reason behind keeping the secrets, in Jenny's and her sisters, he couldn't. "I'll think about it," he promised her.

He could practically see her smile, "Thank you."

"Yeah, so, what have you found?" he asked, shrugging off the thanks.

"Not really much. There's a lot of suspicion about him being a crime boss in Switzerland, but nothing has ever been brought against him. The only thing of note I have here is that he's frequently, and recently, stopped LuthorCorp from buying property in Switzerland."

"Alright, that likely explains why he's here then," Harry muttered.

"He's in Smallville?" Jenny asked. "He's the one that, what was it, 'walked' into your house?"

"No, his con-girl did," Harry told her. He saw Clark walk outside. "Listen, call me if you get anything else note-worthy. I've got to go." He hung up his phone as Clark approached.

"Did you see a guy in a dark coat out here?" Clark asked, looking around. Harry glanced down at what he was wearing; coincidentally, very similar to what Becker was wearing. He glanced up at Clark with a small smile. Clark looked at him in a small amount of annoyance. "Other than you," he clarified.

"I saw him looking at Lucy in the Talon, but he was gone by the time I got out of here," Harry told him truthfully. "What did she say about him?"

"She didn't see him and didn't know why anyone would be looking for her," Clark told him, concerned.

"Well, we'll keep an eye out for him and see what happens," Harry told him.

"Yeah," Clark muttered, stopping glancing up and down the street. "So what do you think of Lucy?"

"She's like a miniature version of her sister; strong willed, talkative and nice" Harry told him, missing out the parts he wasn't suppose to know, such as manipulative, cunning, a fantastic liar and dangerous; she was real Slytherin material, not like the wannabes that had infested Hogwarts during his days there.

"What's it like having two Lane's about?" Clark asked with a small smile.

"I've barely seen them together," Harry told him. "There's an... interesting family dynamic though that I'd prefer to keep on the good side of."

"Oh?" Clark asked curiously.

"You know Lois," Harry told Clark. "Just imagine two of them."

Clark thought about it and shuddered slightly, "Ouch."

"And then imagine that they don't get on well together yet pretend they do..."

"They don't get on?" Clark asked.

Harry shrugged; he didn't _really_ understand the dynamic the sisters had. Probably wouldn't either. "It's a complicated story but it keeps things from getting quiet though." He ran a hand through his hair, "I've yet to decide if that's a good thing."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry sat in his room, the book of blood magic on his lap, waiting for his cue. From the time he'd spent with Lucy today he had probed her mind several times and had a fairly strong idea what her plan was to start her con. He wasn't really sure if he was going about this the right way; in fact, he was fairly sure he wasn't, but the false nicety that Lucy and Lois expressed when in each other's company needed sorted and without looking them in a room together, he didn't know how else to go about it other than let Lucy's plans run without impediment. Lois had done a lot for him, and in his own round-about way, he was trying to help her.

He had told the Lane sister that he was going to bed an hour ago, and from what he'd heard from the solitude of his room, Lois had gone to bed twenty minutes later, worn out, more mentally than physically, from her first day of serving coffee. Despite the near dropping of a tray when Harry had been there, the rest of her day had gone fine. Lucy had headed to her room around the same time Lois had.

The silence of the house was broken by the noise of a door opening slowly. It creaked slightly as it did. Soft footsteps followed. A floorboard creaked just outside of his door. Harry knew from personal experience in this house that Lucy hadn't needed to step on that floorboard to make it down the stairs. Lucy had worked out that _that_ floorboard would creek if she stepped on it.

Silence regained for several seconds and Harry could imagine Lucy frozen mid step only feet from his door.

Footsteps descended the stairs and Harry, his feet silenced, walked towards his door and opened it carefully. He walked down the stairs, constantly questioning himself as to whether continuing with his insane plan was worth it. He reached the bottom of the stairs and heard someone rummaging through something in his kitchen. He quietly made his way through the house and watched Lucy.

Part of her con was to make sure someone knew that she was in dire need of money, and to do that without asking for it, was to be caught stealing it. Harry's legilimancy had picked up multiple scenarios that she had in mind to use, the next one down from this was stealing cash from the Talon. That idea was squashed when Lucy realised that Harry only had a bike and wouldn't be able to follow her should she take it. Thankfully for her, Harry had lined up an alternative for her when Lois first moved in with him.

Due to the elder Lane living with him, Harry had made up something of a kitty; that whilst only he put money in, was for Lois to use if she had food to buy or other essentials for the house. As she technically considered Harry's house as much hers as she did his, Harry was fine giving her some money to sort out what was needed for the house. The kitty held near $700. It had been far less, but Lois had decided that as Harry had told her to sort whatever she wanted in her room, that she wanted a new bed. Despite knowing he could easily transfigure or conjure one, Harry had let her buy the bed.

Lucy had seen the kitty in the kitchen that evening and that became the focus point to start her plans. He watched as the girl removed a little over half the amount from the unlocked metal lock-box. He cleared his throat loudly behind her causing her to jump. Harry was unsure if she genuinely surprised or if she was acting. "Harry, it's not what it looks like," Lucy told him quickly. She was acting now.

"Oh?" Harry asked, frowning with his arms crossed in front of him. He had it on got authority that he could look very intimating when he tried. "And _what_ does it look like?"

"Like I'm stealing from you. I swear, it was going to pay it back when I could," Lucy told him, her eyes desperate.

"Were you?" Harry asked. Now that he was he was doing this, he was seriously doubting himself. His plan to let things run their course wouldn't work. There were too many variables and the likelihood that someone would get seriously hurt was high. He was acting in a way that he told himself that he wouldn't, standing in the shadows, allowing things to run their course, because he was sure he had them under control. Albus Dumbledore had played a similar game with him for years. _That_ had gotten hundreds of people killed. Secrets were alright; playing games with people's lives was not and that was exactly what he was doing right now.

'_Hell is full of good intentions or desires,' _was a quote that Hermione had told him a few years back when explaining the actions of Dumbledore that stuck with him. He could hear his conscience repeating it to him now. He had to stop this before it went any further. He sighed and leaned against his kitchen counter. "To hell with this," Harry told the brunette. "Why don't we cut the act?"

"What act?" Lucy asked in surprise. Her surprise was genuine, but it was more centred on the fact that her cover was blown.

"The 'I'm in debt to a loan-shark and need money' act," Harry told her. "It's just going to get people hurt and I'm stopping it now."

"I don't know what you mean," Lucy told him. He could sense her fear now.

Harry rolled his eyes, "What was the plan?" Harry asked rhetorically. "Pretend to get caught stealing and, if events go as you've predicted and set up, Lex Luthor hears of this and given his recent business that Marcus Becker," Harry noticed her tense at the name, "has blocked, pays off the money you 'owe' and then you and Becker split the money?"

Harry saw the chance in Lucy's eyes as she realised she was caught out, "How did you know?"

"I went to school where one of the houses was for the cunning and ambitious," Harry told her. "I know how to spot someone who's playing with me. I also have friends who know things they likely shouldn't."

"What do you plan on doing with me?" Lucy asked. He could now see the real girl behind her mask. There was a very strong feeling of being lost behind her eyes.

"You'll give me my money back to start with I think," Harry told her, nodding towards the metal lock-box behind her. She turned and placed the money back in, shutting the lid afterwards.

"What are you going to do with me then?" Lucy asked again.

Harry remained silent, watching the girl. "Consider yourself glad that Lois is your sister," he told her. People putting his friends in jeopardy did not endear people to him. From what he had seen, Lucy was a nice girl but there was the fact that what he'd seen of her so far was a lie.

"You've still not answered my questioned," Lucy pointed out, getting annoyed. Harry sensed it as '_Just get it over with' _mentality.

"I've not decided yet; whether that's good for you or not is still to be decided. Why?" Harry asked. "Why do this?" Was it just for money? If it was, the $50,000 she was trying to con from Luthor was a small amount by the man's standards. Although, that was maybe the most they assumed they could get away with . "Honestly," Harry added when he felt her trying to create a lie.

Lucy stared him down for a moment before looking away for a brief second, "When I heard that Lois was staying here and was friends with a good friend of Luthor's I told Becker about it, he came up with the plan."

"Why talk to Becker?" Harry asked, trying to understand that part of the story.

Lucy shrugged, "I'd spoken to him a few times; he lets my friends and I into his clubs, even though he knows we're underage. Becker wanted to get one over on Luthor and he promised me half the take."

"So your sisters well being cost you $25,000 then?" Harry asked idly.

She looked angry at the suggestion. Harry saw this as a good thing given that it was genuine emotion, "That's not what I said. And anyway, Becker has promised not to hurt her. I trust him."

Harry shrugged, "Luthor is smart and so is Lois. Odds are good this would have been seen through. Things like have a tendency to go wrong. What happens then? What happens if a gun gets drawn?" Harry had to keep reminding himself that she _was_ only seventeen and still a kid. He knew firsthand that kids didn't think things through very well. It had taken him a while to consciously become aware of that.

"It won't happen," Lucy told him. "No one is going to get hurt."

"No, but there's more to that," Harry said, delving slightly into her mind. "You don't just want money. What are you looking for?" Whatever it was he couldn't tell.

"There was nothing else," Lucy said, doing her best to look as though she was telling the truth.

"Lie," Harry said, watching her. "I have no intention of running to your sister about this so why don't you..." Something in her mind registered as he said 'sister.' "What does Lois have to do with this?" he asked.

She did her best to keep her faces passive but failed, "I don't know what you mean."

Harry laughed with only the tiniest tinges of humour. Did anyone ever believe that that excuse worked? He knew he'd used it enough times to know that it was one of the easiest ways to confirm your interrogators suspicions. With a small smile he raised an eyebrow and just stared into her eyes. Saying nothing would make her more uncomfortable quicker than accusing her. He'd stared down a Dark Lord; this girl just didn't have it in her.

"Talk to me and I'll see what I can do to help," Harry promised her, his voice softening slightly.

"She was the perfect daughter," Lucy said after a moment's silence. "She was the one dad wanted around. I was the one he sent to boarding school when she got to live with him."

'_Ok,' _Harry thought to himself. _'I can deal with this.' _"Ever look at that from the other angles?" Harry asked. "You're smart, I know that, but did you look at it from your father's point of view?" This was going to take a lot of guess work on his behalf, but he was sure he could do this; he'd been solving more complex mysteries since he was eleven.

"What do you mean?" Lucy asked, confused.

"You were obviously smart when you were young, right?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Lucy said slowly, unsure of where he was going with this.

"Now, I don't know your father, but I can image that if I had a daughter that I knew was gifted, I wouldn't want to drag her across the world. I'd want her in as normal a situation that I could provide, with constant friends and a stable education." He ran a hand through his hair, thinking over his words before speaking. "Lois, as amazing as she is, barely passed high school, was kicked out of University after only a few months and now works in a coffee shop in a small town." He laughed slightly, "She'll do well in life, if only because she's too bloody stubborn and refuses to let anyone put her down. _You_ have an exceptional education and all the options in the world to you. I'm guessing here from my own experiences but what your father did was what he thought was best for you." Harry clearly remembered thinking that Lois' life with her dad, moving from country to country wasn't the best way to raise a kid albeit better than his.

Lucy was silent for a moment. "What experiences?" she asked.

Harry pushed himself up on a kitchen unit and looked at her carefully. He didn't like talking about his 'old' life, but he was trying to connect with Lucy. "When I was fifteen months old my parents were murdered by a terrorist group. Afterwards, I was placed with my aunt and uncle. I was placed there fully under the knowledge that my aunt hated her sister and would likely hate me. The spin on that is that if I wasn't placed there, I likely wouldn't have reached two years old. The terrorist group saw me as the reason their boss was put away, but no one knew, or even suspected that I would be placed where I was. I hated every moment of it and my aunt and uncle are in jail for abuse, but I'd likely be dead were I placed anywhere else."

Lucy looked stunned at the confession. "Um, I'm sorry about your parents," she told him sincerely. "I lost my mum."

"I know," Harry told her with a sad smile. "Lois talks about her sometimes."

"She does?" There was clear surprise in her voice.

Harry nodded. "Not as much as you though. The irony of you thinking that Lois got the perfect life is that I can tell from how she talks about you that she wishes she had yours."

"Yeah right," Lucy said in disbelief.

Harry shrugged, "Maybe not the 'all girls' school part, but the education and one place you could call home. I don't think Lois has had that before now. She knows she can stay here for however long she wants now though."

Lucy seemed to struggle for an answer and Harry took that as a small win for him. "Now what do we do about Becker?" he asked.

Worry crossed Lucy's face, "I can't go back to him and tell him I can't get the money. He's not the type of person to accept that calmly."

Harry ran through his options. As far as he could see he had two; pay off what Lucy 'owed' Becker or kill Becker. Neither was one that appealed to him. He would have preferred to talk to Becker, just get him to leave or if it came to it, threaten him, but he knew that wouldn't work. People like Becker wouldn't just leave. Paying off Lucy's 'debt' was also a bad idea. Becker would likely assume he had found a new and easy cash flow that he could take advantage of. Killing him would be the simplest, and as much as it disturbed Harry, the easiest option. However, taking that route would highly suspicious. Lucy was clearly a sharp girl and would know Harry had had something to do with it.

"If you get him the $25,000 he assumes he's getting, will he leave you alone?" Harry asked. He would try the pay off option whilst keeping an eye from the skies. If Becker didn't leave, Harry would do what he did best and improvise.

"He might," Lucy told him. "But there's a problem with that plan; I don't have twenty five grand to give him."

Harry smiled slightly, "You remember when I said you were lucky that Lois was your sister?"

"Yeah. And?" Lucy asked, not seeing the point.

"I'll have your twenty five thousand by tomorrow afternoon," Harry told her.

"Can't we just get the money for Luthor? With you helping, this will be a lot easier."

Harry considered it for a moment. Yes, things would probably be easier if he just went along with Lucy's plan, but people could get hurt that way. "Not going to happen," Harry told her.

"And you just happen to have twenty five grand you can give away?" Lucy asked sceptically.

Harry shrugged, "You've guessed that I'm rich, you just don't know how much. I'll pay this off to get you out of trouble. I owe Lois this."

"Alright," Lucy told him hesitantly. "You'll really be able to do this?"

Harry nodded. "I can. How do we do this then?"

Lucy was silent for a moment, clearly thinking. "He's staying somewhere in Metropolis. I have a number to call him on when I need to. I'll be able to arrange a meeting with him."

Harry nodded. He knew this was going to go to hell; it was just one of those situations. "Alright. I'll get the money and we can meet him at wherever he indicates."

"That won't work," Lucy told him. "Things will go better if it's only me that meets him."

Harry nodded, "Alright, but I'll be nearby. They won't see me."

"Ok," Lucy agreed. "Oh, he wants the money in bearer bonds."

"Um, sure," Harry told her. He had no idea what they were, but he was sure he could get some.

"Call him tomorrow afternoon; I imagine you could have conned everyone you needed by then?"

"That was the plan," Lucy said with a shrug of her shoulders.

"Go to sleep then. We'll deal with this in the morning."

"Yeah. Good night Harry."

Harry nodded to her.

She stopped just before leaving the room, "You won't tell Lois will you?"

Harry watched her carefully for a moment. "No, I don't suppose I will."

"Thank you Harry." She turned and left the room, leaving Harry standing by himself.

Why couldn't a simple visit from his best friend's sister go normally? Why did it need all the drama? He walked outside and looked up into the sky. He wasn't looking forward to tomorrow.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Sunday March 6__th__, 2005)_

Harry retired to his room after his talk with Lucy, opening the blood magic book and reading through it again. His attention was fractured though and he just flipped through the pages, not really absorbing any information. After an hour of doing little more than stare into space he lay down on his bed, closed his eyes and slipped into an Occlumen's trance until sunrise.

When he finally woke he quietly Apparated downstairs and went for his morning run, pushing himself hard. The weather was beginning to get warmer and trying to outrun his frustrations seemed like a good idea this morning. Whilst he detested seers, he couldn't help but acknowledge he had a small amount of power in that regard. Not enough to show him anything, but enough to know this day wouldn't go as planned.

He returned home thoroughly exhaust from pushing himself so hard. He was surprised to see Lois and Lucy awake and downstairs. Neither of them looked as though they'd gotten much sleep. Lois was nursing a mug of coffee and Lucy was cooking in his kitchen. From the smell she clearly had more talent in this area than her sister. He practically fell through the front door of his house and managed to make it the kitchen before he just dropped to the floor and lay there staring at the ceiling. "Morning," Harry said to the Lane sisters.

He could feel Lucy's concerned gaze on him. He wasn't sure if it was about their conversation last night or his condition this morning. Lois just glanced down at the floor where he lay. "Good run?" she asked.

"Not bad," he muttered. He tilted his head back to look at Lois. "Why is your sister cooking?"

She shrugged, "I tried to stop her, but does anyone ever listen to me?"

"Not if we can help it," Harry muttered knowing full well Lois could hear him. She ignored it.

"I hope you don't mind," Lucy said. "Lois said not to but I wanted to do something to help."

Harry looked over to her and smiled. She was still hesitant of him telling her sister about what she had done and he wanted her to feel comfortable. Sure, she was manipulative and dangerous, but she was Lois' sister and still a kid. "It's only Lois who isn't allowed to cook in here."

"What did she do?" Lucy asked, looking between them.

"It's nothing important," Lois said dismissively.

"I'm too worn out today to embarrass Lois this morning, so I'll stay quiet," Harry told Lucy. He pushed himself to his feet. The breakfast that Lucy was cooking was almost done and he was hungry. "So what's the plan for today?"

"Mrs. Kent asked me to work another shift at the Talon," Lois told him. She sighed, "Why did I agree to work there again?"

Harry shrugged, "You had nothing else to do."

"Right, that was it." She turned to her sister, "What about you?" Something in her voice confused him.

"Lex Luthor invited me round to his manor today. I thought I'd take my violin over," Lucy told her sister.

Harry hadn't known that and imagined that getting the invite to Luthor Manor would have been good for the plans she had yesterday. The ease in which she appeared to have gotten the invite impressed him. He hadn't seen inside the small castle yet.

"What about you Harry?" Lucy asked.

Harry thought about it. "I've got some things to do in Metropolis today," he told them. He needed an excuse to get there with Lucy for this 'business transaction.' He looked over to Lucy, "I could give you a short tour of the city if you aren't at Luthor's for too long." The look he shot her clearly told her to agree.

She smiled brightly at him, "Sure, I'd love to."

Harry smiled back at her before helping her finish off the breakfast.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Alexander Black's office," Jenny answered.

"Morning Jenny," Harry answered as he stepped outside. Lucy had gone for a shower and Lois had just left for work.

"How are you this morning?" she asked. She sounded wide awake.

"Meh," Harry answered.

He heard Jenny sigh, "What is it now?"

Harry laughed, "Are you allowed to talk to your boss like that?"

"Yes, I'm older than you," she admitted. "Now what can I do for you?"

"You know what bearer bonds are?" Harry asked, sitting down on his porch and looking towards the Kent house in the distance.

"I do," Jenny answered. "Would you _like_ some bearer bonds?" she asked.

"If you wouldn't mind," Harry answered mildly.

"How much?"

"Twenty five grand," Harry told.

Jenny sighed again, "You're always this much trouble, aren't you?"

"Pretty much. So, can you get that for me?" Harry asked. He didn't really know if it was possible or not. He'd never heard of bearer bonds before. "And what are they?"

"I'll be able to get them for you. The bonds are an untraceable form of currency. There's no record of who issues them and anyone who holds them can cash them in. Do I want to ask what you're doing now? I have my job to think about here. If you do something stupid we both know I'm under-qualified enough for this job that I won't have it long."

Harry laughed. "It's nice to know I know mean that much to you," Harry told her sarcastically. "You'll leave that down in reception for me?"

"I'll send you a text message when I have," Jenny promised.

"Thanks Jenny. And oh, you're more qualified for your job than I am for mine." He hung up the phone.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry left Smallville in the early afternoon. Lucy had left to visit Luthor Mansion, apparently having agreed to 'jam' with Luthor. With Lucy being skilled in the violin, and Luthor skilled in the piano, the billionaire wanted to play alongside Lucy. She had agreed to this yesterday, before he'd confronted her. Despite everything, he was impressed at how quickly she gotten close to Luthor. He wondered what would have happened there if things had gone as she'd planned.

He stopped by O'Malley's for lunch and chatted with Sean and his wife.

"You got your friends kid sister with ya then?" Sean asked from his seat up at the bar.

Harry wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. "She's hardly a kid, Sean," Harry told him. "She's got herself into some... some financial problems, and now I've got to help sort it out," he said, going with Lucy's version of the story, instead of the actual one.

"Got to?" Sean asked. "I doubt you've _got to._"

Harry shrugged, "She's my friend's sister, and I can't _not_ help."

"That ain't the same thing Harry. How much trouble she in?" he asked.

"The '_We break thumbs' _type," Harry told him, remembering a quote from a TV show Lois had watched the other day. He couldn't help the dark emotions that overran him when he thought about this. He just wanted some semblance of peace. He didn't _want_ to have to kill people to protect others, but that was what he had to do.

"Those types," Sean muttered. "There's a few o' them around here. You reckon you can sort it out?" Sean asked with a frown.

Harry nodded and closed his eyes. "I hope so."

"Well, I reckon you'll manage," Sean told him. Harry raised an eyebrow and he shrugged. "You're still a kid yoursel', but you seem to have a good grasp on the real world."

"I wish I didn't," Harry muttered, finishing the food on his plate.

Sean laughed, "Nah, you don't mean that. Be careful anyway, wouldn't want to tell Grace that her story teller can't come round anymore." Though his words were said with a laugh, Harry could hear the seriousness in his voice. This man had lost his best friend due to crime in this city and knew just how dangerous it was.

"Where is Grace anyway?" Harry asked, not having seen the O'Malley's daughter since he arrived. She usually made it down whenever he was here and Harry enjoyed talking with her. Everyone he knew had suffered some tragedy at some point in their lives and had a darkness because of it. Grace didn't and that was abundantly clear to whoever talked to her.

The older man pointed upwards, "In her room. She's been quiet all morning, which has me a tiny bit worried."

"You've not checked on her?" Harry asked curiously. The girl was a menace, such that Fred and George would likely see her as a kindred spirit in a few years.

"I'll give her an hour," Sean told him. "I ain't got a reason to suspect she's up to anything."

As if fate was answering, tiny footsteps along a wooden floor approached them. Harry's lip twitched slightly. She would have done a great job looking innocent if not for the pink paint on her hair and clothes, and the pink footsteps that followed her. "Hi Daddy, hi Harry," she greeted with a smile as she them.

"Sweetie," Sean said slowly, obviously dreading the answer. "What have you being doing?"

"Nothing Daddy," she responded quickly.

"Grace," her fathered warned again. Still with an innocent look on her face she glanced at Harry.

"You've got a bit of pink on you," Harry told the little girl in a stage whisper. Her eyes widened slightly and she gulped. Harry found it very difficult not to laugh at the 'deer in the headlights' look on her face.

"Grace?" Sean asked again, his voice showing his frustration.

"Sorry Daddy," Grace said, eyes downcast.

Sean sighed, not able to stay mad. "Why don't you tell me what you did?"

She chanced a look at her dad, "I painted my room."

"Pink?" Sean asked in resignation. She nodded. "We even have pink."

She nodded quickly, "We do! I was looking for someone and there was a _whole_ _tub_ of it!"

"Why your mother bought pink paint..." he muttered to himself. He stood up. "Well, let's have a look then," he told his daughter.

Harry stood as well, "I'll leave you to it then."

Sean nodded his thanks. "Come on Grace," he said, gently dragging his daughter with him.

"Bye Harry!" she shouted as she disappeared out of the room. With a small laugh and a smile, Harry left the pub, feeling better than he had an hour ago. He Apparated over to MI to pick up the bonds.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry met up with Lucy a few hours later after she'd spend the morning with Luthor. She had enjoyed playing with a skilled musician and had a standing invitation to go back during her stay here.

Whilst Lucy had been playing music with Luthor, Harry had simply practiced his animagus transformation, cutting down the time of the animal shift to just under forty seconds. When Jenny had contacted him about the bearer bonds he'd Apparated to Metropolis and collected a large silver metal briefcase from one of the girls at reception.

He had then Apparated back home and waited for Lucy. Whilst waiting he placed several tracking charms on the bonds and one on the briefcase. He was trying to do this very quietly but he wasn't taking any chances. Lucy met up with him mid afternoon back at his home.

"You got the bonds?" she asked as she saw the briefcase. The surprise was clear. "How were you able to do that?"

"I just was," Harry told her. "Have you spoken to Becker?"

Lucy nodded, "I told him that I had his money and that I could meet up with him." She looked quite nervous but Harry knew she wasn't lying. "He gave me the location to be in for 4pm."

A quick glance at the clock showed Harry that it was nearly two. "We'll leave now then. Come on." With a wave that was meant to be interpreted as a 'come on' gesture Harry cast a tracking charm on her as well. He was taking no chances.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry flew through the streets of Metropolis, carefully keeping an eye on Lucy from above. He was supposedly waiting for her by his bike a mile away, but he wasn't going to let her out of his sight until this was all sorted peacefully. The taxi Lucy was in pulled up at the address Becker had given her and she stepped out. Flying over the buildings he got a good look into the alleys of Metropolis and his brilliant eyesight quickly picked out Becker and two other men.

He swooped down to street level and transformed out of sight. He cast silencing charms on himself and disillusioned himself. He walked up behind Becker and stood a few feet away.

"Lucy," the man said upon seeing her. Harry didn't recognise the accent. "You got the money far quicker than I imagined. It is unfortunate I do not see Luthor here as well. That was part of the plan"

"There were a few problems," Lucy told the man. Her voice was strong and didn't waver.

"You have my money then?" Becker asked, looking down at the silver briefcase.

"Twenty five thousand in bearer bonds," Lucy told him, handing over the briefcase. Becker indicated for one of his men to take it. One man opened it and scanned the brief case with a small metal device as the other looked inside and counted out the bonds. The counting nodded to Becker. "No tracking devices," the other said. Becker smiled, pleased.

"And the other twenty five?" he asked. He sounded amused, but Harry had heard Voldemort to speak to _him_ in a similar manner before. That generally meant nothing good.

"I've already taken my share. That was what we agreed on,"

"And what problems did you have Lucy?" Becker asked. Harry stood ready to act. He didn't like the tone of his voice. He settled on the spell to use should Becker make a sudden movement.

"I wasn't able to get the money from Luthor. I got it from someone else," Lucy told Becker. Harry knew this was about to go bad.

"Oh? And who is this?" Becker asked, clearly interested.

"A friend," Lucy answered and he knew that it was the wrong thing to say. "He caught me trying to scam Luthor and my sister and did what he could to 'save me'. It was either be reported or follow his plan. I chose the second one, that way we still go our money."

Becker smiled in a manner that Harry knew meant he was going to exploit what Lucy said. "A friend of yours was able to give you twenty five thousands dollars, in bonds, in an afternoon?"

Lucy half nodded before realising that she really was in trouble now. She stood stock still, staring down Becker.

"If you tell us who it is I will let you go," he promised. Harry had to admit, he did sound was convincing. Neither he nor Lucy believed it though. She had nothing to say though without turning in Harry. He knew that the moment he threatened her properly she'd likely give up his name. It would have caused him some hassle but it would be the smart thing. He certainly didn't know Lucy well enough to inspire loyalty.

"That wasn't part of our deal. I was to get you the money and that was it," Lucy told the man, surprising Harry. He apparently _had _reached her on some level.

"Yes," Becker said. "But then you changed our deal first."

He reached into his jacket and Harry acted immediately. _'Animi __adgredior_,' he silently cast. A 'minor' curse he had learned from the necromancy book he had been reading recently struck Becker in the back chest. The heart-attack curse was quick, it was violent, and it killed in a way that wouldn't point to magic. The spell itself was colourless. A simple sharp shock to the chest was enough to overcome the curse, but Becker and his henchmen had no idea what had happened.

Becker stopped, his arm halfway out of his jacket. He dropped his gun and clutched his left arm before dropping to his knees. Becker was already dead; and by the look in his eyes he knew that. Lucy took initiative and turned to run. One of the men grabbed her round the arm.

Harry cast a muscle relaxant charm on the man's arm. It struck true and his arm fell limply by his side. A tripping jinx on Henchman Two send him crashing into One and they fell to the ground, giving Lucy her chance to escape with the briefcase. Harry stunned both of them for good measure now that no one was around to see the spell flash from a dual _Stupefy._

He cast a notice-me-not charm around the area and looked around making sure Lucy couldn't be tied with being here. There were no security cameras, something Becker obviously knew when he picked this spot and they were out of the way enough for nobody to have seen or heard anything. Everything in the area was fine. He moved over to the two unconscious henchmen and removed them of their last day's memories. He could have done it smoother had he awakened them, but brute force obliviation worked fine.

He searched the three men next, electrically frying their phones. Smoke rose from Becker's pocket as he waved his hand over it. That mixed with the magic that killed him would see that Lucy's number was not recognised as the last or one of the last to call it. Satisfied that nothing was out of place except for the dead man and the two unconscious body guards, he removed the traces of magic from the area and left the alley and anonymously called the police, letting them know where the two unconscious men were.

He found where he had parked his motorbike and looked around for Lucy. She was supposed to have met him here. He cautiously approached his bike and noticed a scrap of paper attached to it.

'_Sorry' _was all it said.

Harry sighed in annoyance. There had always been the chance that Lucy would bolt if she could, but he had hoped she wouldn't. Apparently she'd taken the chance after seeing Harry wasn't at his bike. He wondered if Lucy had tried to steal his bike. From what he'd heard around school it wasn't that difficult to hotwire a car or a bike, and Lucy seemed like the type of person who would know that skill. If she'd likely would have been disappointed when it didn't work; magic added a whole other level of security to his bike. It definitely wouldn't do for someone to steal it and realise what Harry had done to it.

He turned his attention to finding Lucy. Knowing the girl was tricky and that this 'operation' had a high chance of going to hell, the bonds had tracking charms on them, as did Lucy, so finding her wouldn't be difficult. He closed his eyes and allowed himself to concentrate on the girl. He felt Clark's tracker was still in Smallville and that Lucy, as well as the bonds, were only a mile away and moving slowly. He looked east, the direction she was in and wondered where she was heading.

Unsure, he mounted his bike and drove slowly after her tracker, checking it every so often. After a minute he pulled up outside the Metropolis bus station. Finding a safe place to drop off his bike he closed in on the tracker.

He found Lucy, and his briefcase sitting on a bench with a bus ticket in her hands. As there were plenty of people walking by she didn't look up at him as he neared her. "I would easily have given you a lift back to Smallville," Harry told her calmly, as though he had no idea what she was trying to do.

She turned towards him, startled. She sighed in resignation. "How did you hide the GPS tracker from Becker?"

Harry just smiled, "Trade secret and I didn't have much of a choice. Either you were going to run the moment I gave you the bonds or Becker was going to kidnap you for more money. Couldn't be too careful. I was pleased that you did try and give Becker the money, even if you could have done it better."

"You were there? I thought you were going to wait somewhere else?"

"I did," Harry told. "Six floors up." Lucy didn't have to know that he wasn't on the roof above the alley but actually a few feet in front of her for the whole thing.

"You saw what happened then?" she asked.

Harry nodded, "I did." He smiled at her slightly, "Might I suggest you never try find a job in hostage negotiations, or anything similar?"

She frowned, "I said a few things I realise I shouldn't have, but he wasn't happy from the moment he knew Lex wasn't there."

They lapsed into silence. "You know you aren't keeping that money, right?" Harry asked her, just watching people bustling about around him.

Lucy smiled at him; the charming smile he'd seen earlier, "It was worth a try though."

Harry glanced over to the girl and shook his head. "You're dangerous, you know that?" he asked.

"So's Lois," Lucy told him.

Harry smiled and shook his head again, "Not quite. She's seems to attract trouble; you _are_ trouble." Harry laughed lightly, "I'll enjoy the poetry of that for a moment."

"So what happens now then?" Lucy asked when Harry said nothing more.

Harry shrugged, "You either come back to Smallville with me, spent another day there before flying back to school, or you get on that bus and fend for yourself."

"You'd just let me leave?" Lucy asked in surprise.

Harry shrugged, "You're like your sister; you'll survive whatever's thrown at you. What I'll tell your sister if you do leave would be difficult though."

"You'd manage," Lucy told him without doubt. "I think you're more dangerous than I am."

He wondered if she'd have been able to sense that; hell, with him being able to get her twenty five thousand dollars in a night, in currency that he really shouldn't have been able to get, it wasn't difficult to deduce. Still...

"I'm just Harry," he told her.

Lucy clearly didn't believe a word of it, but seemed to be enjoying herself, "Why don't I believe that?"

Harry stared into her eyes for a moment before grinning slightly and leaning back on the bench he sat on. "So what happens then? Come back to Smallville or leave?"

Harry sat in silence for a moment, curious what she'd chose. He couldn't help but smile at her decision.

"You'll pay for my flight back to Switzerland, right?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

_Next Chapter: __**Obliviate**_


	26. Obliviate: Part 1

**AN:** _Next chapter! I split this one into two parts at the urging of my beta. So, part two should be up next week._

_Enjoy and review._

**Chapter 26 – Obliviate: Part One**

_(March – May)_

The following months were generally quiet for Harry, despite the usual madness that circumvented Smallville. It hadn't been quiet for everyone, but Harry had managed to avoid most of it.

A couple of weeks after Lucy left, LuthorCorp had been doing some experiments with super-heated meteor-rock when the green rock became unstable. From what Harry had found out after the event had happened, the meteor rock had turned black and had been able to split Lex Luthor, who had been present during the incident, into two separate people, one with Lex's good side and the other with Lex's bad side.

With spending more time in Metropolis, Harry managed to miss most of it, having to find out from Clark, Chloe and Lana later on. The evil version of Lex had attempted to kill Clark and Chloe, had closed down the Talon, evicting Lana from her flat above the coffee shop, sexually propositioned her (Something Lana hadn't mentioned to him, but his legilimancy picked it up) and shot Jonathan Kent in the leg.

No one had sustained permanent injury and Lex was eventually merged back together. Harry still felt guilty over the fact that he hadn't been around to help. Of course, no one had called him in to help, so he couldn't have known and shouldn't have felt guilty at all.

The knowledge about what happened to super-heated meteor rock was quickly passed onto Prometheus Labs so that such a mistake wouldn't happen there. Although, had it happened, Harry was hopeful the magic users that worked in the lab would have been able to shield the unstable reaction.

The lab itself was progressing well. So far there hadn't been any breakthroughs, in either the magic of GME departments, but Dr. Warner assured Harry that they were close. They had taken ample amounts of raw data from purebloods, half-bloods, muggleborns, squibs and GME's and were working through that information now. The noticeable difference in the labs was now the amounts of people they had working with them. To begin with, ten scientists, ten magic users and six squib lab assistants had been the entire work force of the lab. Only half a year since the lab opened, those numbers had quadrupled.

However, despite the achievements the lab had made, Harry had yet to submit himself for testing. He wanted the people at Prometheus to know what to look for and know what shouldn't be when they looked him over. No one other than Zeke even knew about his elemental ability and that that was the reason behind the creation of the lab.

In further Smallville related madness, their Prom had come and past in traditional Smallville madness. The favourite for Prom Queen, Dawn Stiles, had been involved in a car accident that allowed her spirit to exit her body, able to possess whoever she touched. She had made it from Martha Kent, to Lana, to a nurse at the Smallville Medical Centre before Harry had been aware that something was wrong. He hadn't seen Mrs. Kent or Lana during that day, but when another student was injured and he'd spoken with the nurse, he'd realised what was going on.

His legilimancy had picked up a foreign mind in the nurse's. He had grabbed her shoulder as she walked away, inadvertently triggering the possession transfer, bring Dawn Stiles' mind into his own. His skill in protecting his mind had proved invaluable then, and for a painful minute he fought for control over his body, eventually expelling the spirit of the girl. After Voldemort had managed during the Battle of the Department of Mysteries, he let no one control his mind.

Harry had had no desire at all to attend the school prom, but eventually relented, even if it was only for five minutes. Following an article in the Torch titled _'Boycott the Vote!' _by Chloe, the student body of Smallville High submitted the reporters name for prom queen beside Dawn and another girl that Harry had no recollection of ever talking to. In Clark's words, voting for Chloe _was_ the boycott vote. Chloe had been completely unsure whether to be horrified by her nomination or flattered.

Due to his friend receiving a nomination, Harry and Lois had turned up just at the end of prom to see whether or not she was crowned. To Chloe's shock and her friends amusement, she won by a landslide majority.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Saturday May 14__th__ 2005 – 2pm)_

Harry groaned and sat up as his phone rang. He'd been hoping for some quiet time. He was sure that was why his phone chose to ring _now_. The day was one of the best Smallville had had in a while, with no clouds in the sky and only a light breeze. Harry had taken the opportunity and spent most of the morning in his animagus form flying over the town, soaring and diving, greatly amusing himself at the same time. He followed this up by collapsing on the grass at the back of his house.

His falcon and its odd flying manor had been noticed quickly around the town and there had been a slight increase in bird watchers from the local area, eager to see the odd bird that had chosen Smallville as its home. From the close look people had gotten of him, and the lightning bolt shaped pattern on his chest and scar across his eye, the locals had named him Horus, after the Egyptian Sky God who was portrayed with the head of a falcon.

Harry had approved of it and accepted it as his animagus name. It was, in his opinion, a great deal better name than the Marauders had chosen and infinitely better than any nickname he'd had before now. He read about his name-sake afterwards and now found himself with a small fascination with Egyptian mythology that now annoyed Lois to no end. Bill Weasley had talked about his curse breaking adventures in Egyptian Tombs and Pyramids, but he had had more important things to worry about then.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and glanced at the caller display. The number was Zeke's assistant so he guessed he better answer it. "Hello?"

"Mr. Black?" Michelle said. "Are you free to take a call from Mr. Griffis just now?"

"Sure, put him through," Harry said, curious to know what Zeke wanted. Whilst he spoke with the man often enough, Harry was usually the one who called.

The phone line clicked a few times and there was a few seconds of silence. "Harry," Zeke answered.

"How are you Zeke?" Harry asked, staring up into the sky. His Omni-lenses provided a tint, that whilst looked no different if someone was looking at them, acted as sunglasses if you were wearing them. It was an odd sensation to know you weren't wearing any glasses yet have the world darken around you. It had been one of the first features that he'd accidentally activated and he would never admit aloud that he'd panicked.

"Busy," Zeke told him. "Listen, I've got something I need your input on, so if you're able, can you get over here soon?"

Harry blinked a few times at the odd request, "Sure. I'll be there in half an hour."

"Meet me at Prometheus Labs Harry," Zeke said. "Oh, and bring your wand."

"Sure, I'll be there when I can." Harry hung up his phone and pushed himself to his feet, rotating both his arms. Flying, as fun as it was, used muscles that he hadn't been sure existed before his complete transformation. Using them was still causing him muscle strain.

He walked into his home, his eyes cancelling the 'sunglass tint' as he did. Lois was working at the Talon today and he knew how busy they were at this time of day. Not knowing how long his meeting with Zeke would take, he penned a short note and placed it on the fridge door where Lois would notice it immediately after coming into the house. She had a habit of going straight for the fridge whenever she came home.

He found it odd that he now considered this house as much Lois' as he did his. He didn't know if that should worry him or not.

With the note placed on the fridge, he Apparated straight through the magic access point of Prometheus Labs, not using the access method he usually entered through. He appeared in a small white room. With a thought one of the walls in the room slid to the side with a hiss, allowing him access to the rest of the lab. A wizard guard nodded to him as he walked out. Harry made his way through to the canteen, grabbed a bottle of water and sat down on a nearby chair. He took a deep drink from the bottle, cast a few perimeter charms around him and cleared his mind.

Half an hour of meditation past before he felt the charms around him trigger. His eyes snapped open to see Zeke and Doctor Warner standing a few feet from him. Harry pushed himself to his feet and checked his watch, wincing as his left shoulder cracked. "You took your time," Harry pointed out.

Zeke laughed slightly. "And you said you'd be here in half an hour; not three minutes," he countered.

Harry took another swig from his bottle of water, "I said I'd be there in half an hour before you point out that it was _here_. At the Tower I can't just Apparate to your, or my, office."

Zeke nodded, "True. Maybe we can sort that though. Add a secure Apparition point by the top offices. I've been a bit busy for that to be a priority."

Harry nodded; he had no problems with that. "So, why am I here?" Harry asked. "And why did I need my wand?" Being proficient in wandless magic, he had no use for it anymore and hadn't touched it in months.

Zeke nodded, "Follow me to Dr. Warner's office and I'll fill you in."

Harry, Zeke and Dr. Warner made their way through the Lab to his office. There, Harry conjured two semi-comfortable seats and he sat, waiting for the details.

"Tell me Harry," Zeke said. "With you being as recognisable in Europe as you are, what do you think will happen when 'Harry Evans' of the exact same age is plastered across the news when it's revealed to the public who you are?"

This thought had crossed Harry's mind a few times but he'd always dismissed it; after all, purebloods and the magic born very rarely paid attention to muggle news. "Well, some people might be a bit suspicious," Harry said, feeling as though that was a bit of an understatement. It seemed to be a bit of a weak argument now that someone else brought it to his attention. He winced slightly, "I'm screwed aren't I?"

Zeke chuckled slightly, "There was a high chance for that, but then, you made the good decision to put your trust in me to run this company properly."

"Oh?" Harry asked.

"The problem you have is that 'Harry Potter' just vanished from the face of the earth. With 'Harry Evans' appearing a year after, people will be suspicious and the ICW _will_ send European representatives to investigate. That will not end well for us, or for the company."

"So what do we do?" Harry asked. It was obvious that Zeke had a plan.

"It's simple," the man told him. "We kill Harry Potter."

Harry's eyes narrowed as his gaze bore into Zeke. "Oh?" he asked in a low voice, ready to fight.

Zeke held up his hands in a show of surrender. "Whoa Harry; don't take that so literally. As far as I'm concerned you and Potter are two different people."

"Sorry," Harry apologised. "Force of habit. What's going to happen? Actually, what _has_ happened so far?"

Zeke cleared his throat, "Two months after the company went public I had some people start 'Project Evanidus'. The goal of the project was to find a suitable method of securing your identity. Whilst you already had a suitable back-story that had very little, if no, faults, it wouldn't be enough. For Harry Evans to appear uncontested, Harry Potter needed to turn up dead first."

"So?" Harry asked, wanting Zeke to get to the point.

"Whilst the magic was of a darker sort, we've effectively created a homunculus of you that we've had Dr. Warner test numerous times to try and disprove it's you."

Harry blinked in shock for a moment at what had been done. He _knew_ that was dark was magic, but he'd used enough in his time to know that it was sometimes needed. "Let me get this straight," Harry said. "You and a group of magic users have, more or less, recreated my body, my... appearance, in order to fake my death in the magic community?" Zeke nodded.

Harry sat quietly for a minute running this idea through his head. It was... ridiculous... but it might just work. He thought through the pro's and con's of the faking his death. First and foremost, his friends back in Britain would think he was dead. That seemed really wrong to him. Yes, he had vanished, and yes, they had no idea where he was, but they _knew_ he was alive. Taking that away from them would be harsh. The other side to that argument was that if the European magic users realised where he was that would put his new friends in a lot of danger. He knew that some people would want him 'brought in' at any cost.

Now that he thought about it, this was likely similar to what Dumbledore had gone through when deciding where to place Harry after his parents had been murdered. At the Dursley's he would be unhappy, but with the wards and the protections, he would be safe from outside harm. Had Dumbledore given him to another family, a magic family, it was likely that he never would have reached his second birthday. The remaining Death Eaters would have seen to that.

It all came down to happiness versus safety.

As it did with Dumbledore, safety won out without much trouble.

"Alright," Harry said to Zeke. The man relaxed slightly, knowing that Harry was onboard. "What do we do then?"

"Well," Dr. Warner said from behind his desk. "We've tested the homunculus with every known scientific and magical method to determine its identity and had we not known what it was, it would have been very difficult to establish that it was a fake." He typed a few things into his computer and rotated the monitor. Harry took a look at the screen and his eyebrows rose. The monitor showed a photograph, taken a week ago, of what appeared to be him lying on an operating table. The likeness was damn near perfect but there were several things he could see that would disprove the homunculus in seconds.

"The Devil is in the details," Dr. Warner quoted to him. "As you can see, the homunculus' body is clear, showing no signs that it has every experienced trauma. It is known that you've received numerous scars over the years, other than the lightning bolt that is so widely known."

"You need to see what scars I have so you can copy them," Harry concluded hesitantly. He had no desire to show off his war wounds to a room full of doctors and magic users, but he knew very well you often had to do things you'd rather not in order to survive this world.

"We do," Warner told him. Harry heard the slight hesitancy in his voice. "We also need to know which of your scars you've received since leaving the magic the world. There are also," he cleared his throat. "Other details we need to copy."

Harry had yet to take his eyes off the photo of his 'dead' self. The fact that it was naked showed Harry what 'other details' were wrong.

Harry nodded, knowing if he wanted to protect his friend he had little choice. "So when the body is finished, what happens then?"

"We have a few scenarios you can pick from," Zeke said. "Your death will attract attention, and your cause of death will change things."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked.

"Well, what do you think Harry Potter's death at the hands of a homeless non-magic would do for non-magic/magic relations?"

Harry nodded in understanding, "It likely wouldn't do much good."

"The same applies for death by werewolf, vampire, goblin, or what have you," Zeke said with a nod.

"What options are there?" Harry asked, idly noting the strangeness of this conversation. "I'd prefer my cause of death not to be 'hit by a bus' or something similar. Although, there is a certain irony to being struck by lightning."

Zeke rolled his eyes. "Our best option is the 'attack by dark European wizards who seek revenge for fallen master' approach. The problem with this is that there never will be people to have arrested for your 'murder', but it's the most likely scenario and the one I suggest you take."

"And where will this happen?" Harry asked.

"Anywhere in the world," Zeke said. "It's known by the magical government that you're here in America, so this country is your best bet. If you're looking for my recommendation, I say California. It's on the West Coast."

"Why the West?" Harry asked. "People know I've visited New York; why not there?"

"For exactly that reason," Zeke told him. "As far as I know, no one _has_ looked for you there, but I image that would change eventually. Being on the West would make sense to people."

"Because it's the furthest away point in America from England," Harry said, deducing what Zeke was talking about.

"Good. Now, this will take a bit of theatrics to pull off; a lot of spell fire in a public area that will need Obliviators to fix, before the body is left to find."

"You can do that without getting caught?" Harry asked. This was all sounding a bit much.

Zeke nodded, "I've had people planning this for six months Harry; I'd say we had a really good chance of succeeding.

"Alright." A thought occurred to him, "The government here knows that I changed my name and identity though. They'll know it was faked."

Zeke smirked at Harry, "I have friends here Harry and those that owe me and my family favours. You remember Arthur Jones, the man you spoke to when arriving in New York?"

"Yeah," Harry said, not having thought about him in a while. "What about him?"

"He was good friends with my father, before he passed away, and wasn't about to let an important favour from his best friends son pass. He's done quite a lot in the last few months to remove your identity and location from their databases, as well as creating a second false identity for you."

"You managed that?" Harry asked, impressed.

Zeke nodded, "My father was an important man before he died and I've made use of his connections over the years. A lot of people owed him a lot of things. You know as well as I do that debts are taken seriously when magic is involved."

Harry nodded, "So I've pretty much vanished then?"

"Harry Potter and Harry Evans, according to known data, are two different people and their arrival in the country at the same time, merely coincidence."

"Wow," Harry muttered. This had been thought out pretty well.

"There are a few other recommendations I can make," Zeke offered.

"Please," Harry said. "You seem to have this under control so far."

"You having the same birthday as Potter is slightly suspicious, but should Evans be born on the 23rd of July a year earlier than Potter is far less noticeable."

Harry blinked a few times. "You plan to age me a year?" he asked in surprise.

Zeke nodded, "If you're twenty one when you're identify is revealed it makes things easier all round for the company, it also removes another similarity that could get you caught out."

Harry thought about and again. It would cause a lot of problems for him to be suddenly a year. He knew for a fact that Chloe had pulled up his information and would have seen a date of birth. Both Luthors, as well as several other people also knew who he was. "What do we do about the people that already know I'm only 19?"

"The best option we have is to say that your information was deliberately put into the systems wrong, in order to further preserve your secrecy. We will get into some trouble for forging some records, but with a fine and a bit of magic, it won't be more than a small hassle."

"Alright," Harry told him, seeing that the idea made sense. It would also mean that he would be '21 years old' when he was made public. That would be handy. "Do it."

Zeke smiled in relief. "We can do it, and as I did it four months ago, well, I'm glad you agreed."

That annoyed Harry slightly that the decision had been taken from him but let it slide because it helped him and he would have agreed anyway. "It's fine that you did, but don't do something like that again without talking to me first."

"I apologise for that, but when you identity was being changed, I had little time decide."

"Why do you need my wand?" Harry asked as the thought occurred to him.

"Why would you think?" Zeke asked curiously.

Harry allowed himself to think about it for a minute. Eventually the answer came to him, "If my body is found with my wand it will add a lot of credibility to it."

Zeke nodded, "Very few magic users would give up their wands willingly. Any body found with your wand would be held under the assumption that it was you that died, under polyjuice potion or numerous other magics."

"What else?" Harry asked.

"I understand that you still wore glasses when in the public eye back in Britain?" Warner asked.

"Yeah," Harry said. Whilst he had his Omni-lenses, he still wore his glasses when people could see him, the final battle being the exception. If people thought he was blind without them it gave him a significant tactical advantage. Numerous Death Eaters had been caught or killed under the assumption that Harry couldn't see if they summoned them away.

"Not wearing them and your 'body' being found with them will help matters then. It's remarkable how something as simple as a pair of glasses can alter someone's perception of you."

"A pair of glasses?" Harry asked, not believing it.

"As ridiculous as it sounds, it's true," Warner sincerely.

"Alright. Anything else?"

"Nothing particular," Zeke told him. "I wouldn't pass up a hair colouring charm to get rid of the grey streaks though. A hair cut, or growing facial hair wouldn't be too bad either, but I'll leave that for you to decide."

Harry ran a hand through his hair, "I could get it cut short," Harry offered. "But, well, I can't grow a beard or anything." He didn't know why that was, especially when Ron had begun shaving frequently when he was fourteen, but he'd rarely had a need for it. There had been a brief assumption a while back that he was perhaps a partial metamorphmagus, but that hadn't panned out.

"Now," Warner said. "Are you up for starting this?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

The next several hours of Harry's life were immensely difficult. He had had to strip naked and spent an hour in a machine that meticulously scanned every inch of his body until Dr. Warner and the other scientists were satisfied that they had a completely accurate three-dimensional layout of Harry's body. Every cut and scar was documented in detail.

The next part had been the most draining; having to explain, to the best of his knowledge, how he had gotten each scar and which spell had been use to cause it. Having eighteen years of scars on his body, this took a while. Once the doctors were satisfied with the scar documentation, they moved onto physical stress and other spells that his body had been submitted to. The vanished bones in his left arm were noted. The numerous falls from broomsticks were noted as was each of the Unforgivable curses. Whilst he knew that he had been hit with the killing curse once and the imperious curse eleven times, he had completely lost count of how many times the Cruciatus curse had been used; hundreds, if he had to guess.

With all the information gathered, a group of magic users and plastic surgeons worked together for eleven hours to damage and heal the homunculus so that it physically matched Harry.

Harry's decision to stay for the entire process didn't last long. He hadn't been sure how long it would last, but was sure it wouldn't be too long. After being told that the procedure would take a little over 11 hours to finish, Harry quickly chose to go home.

Apparating out of the lab, Harry arrived home a little after 9pm. Checking to make sure no one saw him appear out of nowhere, he walked into his house. The lights and the TV were on, signifying that Lois was home. He walked through to the lounge to find Lois with her feet up on the couch, a mug of coffee in her hand. She looked up as he entered, "Good day?" she asked. As he had an ever increasing tendency to disappear at random times for reasons he'd never quite explained, Lois had stopped asking where he'd been. This had taken a while and he could still tell she wanted to ask every time he vanished.

"Bizarre beyond extremes," Harry answered truthfully.

"Yeah?" Lois asked, curious.

"Yeah," Harry said. "Want a drink?" he asked, moving off the topic of his day.

"I'm good," Lois told him.

With a nod Harry walked through to the kitchen opening himself a bottle of beer and rummaging through the cupboards for something quick to eat.

"I think I've worked out where you keep going," Lois said from the lounge.

Harry paused in his search for a moment. Lois was incredibly perceptive at times, and there was always a worry in the back of his mind that she, or Chloe for that matter, would discover who he was before he told them. "Oh?" Harry shouted back.

"Yeah. I'm on the fence about it, but I've narrowed it down to two things," Lois said back to him.

Curious, he abandoned his search for food and went back to the lounge. "Alright," Harry said, waiting.

"Either you've got a secret girl in the city, which, while plausible, I don't know why you'd keep it a secret," Lois told him, a look of deep thought on her face.

"And the other option?" Harry asked.

"You're a gigolo. Now _that_ I can see you wanting to keep secret."

"I... what?" Harry spluttered. "You think I'm a man whore?"

Lois shrugged, "You disappear all the time, always have cash on you." She turned to him with a mock compassionate look on her face, "It's okay if you are. You can tell me."

"I... I..." Harry said, not quite able to get out words. It was then Lois' serious face vanished, replaced by a victorious smirk. "You're having me on," Harry muttered, disgusted at himself. He was usually good at either spotting these conversations as she started them, or just playing along. However, he'd had a long day today, one he'd spent a few hours of naked, and wasn't quite at the top of his game. "That's funny," Harry told her sitting down.

"You really have had a bizarre day, haven't you?" Lois asked, grin still on her face.

"Yeah." A thought crossed his mind, "Should I be insulted that one of the only scenarios you have for me having a private life is that I'm a whore?"

"I was leaning more towards the girlfriend side of things, but there was a question mark there," Lois told him, enjoying herself

"Thanks," Harry muttered sarcastically. "So, how was _your _day?"

"Well, the Talon was robbed this afternoon." Harry sat up straighter. Obviously nothing too bad had happened, but this seemed pretty serious.

"What happened?" Harry asked.

"No idea," Lois said. "Since I have no memory of it happening. All I noticed was the till was empty and I'd zoned out several orders."

Harry paled. "Someone erased your memory?" he asked, catching on to what she implying. Where there wizards here? The timing couldn't be coincident, could it? Had Lois been Obliviated?

Lois raised an eyebrow, impressed he'd cottoned on so quickly. She nodded, rightly perturbed that someone had messed with her mind. "Yeah. Next thing I know, Smallville runs off to find out what happened and comes back in with Chloe with no idea of who he is." She rolled her eyes and shook her, "I swear, that boy catches amnesia like a cold."

"Wait, someone erased his mind?" Harry asked. What the hell had happened in his absence?

"No, just his memories. He doesn't exactly need us to feed him." She sighed in relief, "Thank god for small mercies."

"He's alright, right?" Harry asked.

Lois snorted, "It's debatable whether he's ever been alright." Harry just rolled his eyes, too use to Lois bad mouthing Clark. She didn't mean a word of it, but she still couldn't help herself. "Other than having no idea who he is, he's fine. Well, he was last time I checked. With him, who knows what trouble he's gotten himself into."

Harry wasn't too worried, "Well, his parents are with him. I'm sure he's fine."

Lois looked at Harry as though he'd lost his mind, "You forgotten that they're in Metropolis for the weekend?" she asked. A Harry's confused look she continued, "For Mr. Kent's check-up? Chloe tried calling them a few times but couldn't get through."

Harry's eyes widened. The Kent's were away for the weekend. "Chloe's with him?" Harry asked. If Clark didn't know who he was, did that mean he didn't know how to control his powers, or was the instinctual?

"She spent the day with him, showing him around, trying to see if he remembered anything."

"How was she?" Harry asked.

"Freaked I guess, but she wasn't here last time he went all Jason Bourne on us, so she's new to this."

"Jason who?" Harry asked in confusion. Lois had a habit of using obscure references to films and TV shows that he never understood.

"The Bourne Identity?" Lois asked. At his blank look she just rolled her eyes, "Never mind." She glanced up at the clock near the door. "I was going to go check up with him, see how he's doing," she told him.

"Sure," Harry said. He'd been planning on going to see Clark for himself and ask him things that Lois shouldn't hear, but he could always try get rid of her for that. "Want to take my bike?" Harry asked, getting to his feet.

"Or we could walk," Lois said with a roll of her eyes. "It's really not _that_ far."

"Alright, we'll walk," Harry said, heading to the front door as Lois went to get a pair of shoes. While it was dark outside, it was still a pleasant temperature.

Lois joined him outside a minute later. "So, besides being robbed, how was work today?" Harry asked as they began the mile long walk.

"Busy," Lois said with a sigh. "I swear, the Talon is never that busy when I'm not there."

"It's a plausible theory," Harry said. "Word around school is that people enjoy you're witty banter and sarcastic remarks as they try and order coffee from you."

"Yeah?" Lois asked with a pleased and smug grin.

Harry rolled his eyes and smiled slightly, "Try and keep your ego in check Lois."

"My ego's fine, thank you. A little positive reinforcement was never a bad thing," Lois chided.

"Like you need any?" Harry asked with a snort. "So come on, more happened today than you've told me. What else was there?"

"I had to talk with Sheriff Adams after the Talon was robbed and she's looking into it. So is Chloe. I heard she was pulling her investigative reporter routine around town today trying to get a lead on whoever 86'd Clark."

"She find anything?" Harry asked.

"Nothing I know of," Lois told him. "But she has been running around with Clark all day, so who knows. She usually has something by now."

"We'll just ask Clark," Harry suggested.

"If he remembers anything about today," Lois muttered.

"Lois, he has amnesia, not brain problems," Harry chided with a smile.

Lois smiled smugly back, "With how often he gets amnesia, how can you be sure?"

Harry didn't have a reply for that. He let Lois have her brief moment of victory. "So what happened first time this happened to him?"

Lois snorted, suppressing a smile. "You've heard about how Lionel Luthor tried to kill Chloe last year?" she asked.

Harry nodded, having picked up the story when Lionel was released from jail. "The blown up safe house?" he asked.

"Right. I was in Smallville trying to find out what happened to her. I didn't buy the 'gas leak' excuse we were given and I want to speak with guy who killed her. I didn't really know what I was going to do, but I was damned sure going to prove her death was foul play."

"It wasn't though," Harry said.

"I know that now," Lois said with a roll of her eyes. "I saw a message Chloe had left saying Clark would be able to help found out who killed her so I went looking for the Kent's. I was lost, in the middle of nowhere when lightning strikes the road in front of me. I mean, how likely is that?" Harry raised an eyebrow at the mention of lightning but remained silent. "I swerve off the road, into one of a million corn fields. I get out of the car to look it over a lightning strikes the ground again and out walks Clark in all his glory with no idea of who he was or what he was doing naked in a corn field. As tempting as it is to ask him, I don't think I want to know."

Harry just processed what Lois had told him. The story seemed quite bizarre and he was sure there was more to it than Lois knew; something to do with Clark's powers that were obviously different than a GME's. The lightning concerned him slightly. Had Clark been hit by lightning, or had the lightning dropped him off? With Harry's own powers he knew such a thing was possible. Harry wanted to ask Clark more details about it, but as Clark didn't know a thing about his gift over electricity, he didn't want to lay any suspicions. He still wasn't entirely sure how many abilities Clark thought he had and he didn't want to keep adding to it.

"An interesting first meeting then?" Harry asked. The thought of Lois seeing Clark naked made him feel uncomfortable in a way he wasn't all that sure of.

"You can say that again. I didn't realise that _he_ was the one I was looking for until an hour afterwards."

"An odd coincidence then," Harry said, despite not believing in coincidence. Lois raised an eyebrow. "Finding him by accident when you were looking for him."

The entered the Kent land. A light was on in Clark's barn, pointing out the amnesiac's location like a beacon. "That kind of thing just happens in this town, doesn't it?" Lois rhetorically asked.

"Makes things more exciting," Harry told Lois as they entered Clark's barn. Lois didn't reply. They walked up the stairs to the first floor of Clark's barn. He was sitting on his old brown couch, clearly frustrated. He threw the pieces of paper he held in his hand down to the table in front of him and sighed heavily.

"Looks like one more thing you don't remember. You usually hide all those emotions. We came to ask if you were doing okay. But it looks like I got my answer," Lois said. She pulled up a chair and sat down. Harry moved over to the other side of the couch Clark was on and sat on the arm rest.

"My life is a complete void. How would you feel?" Clark asked with a frown.

"I'd imagine," Harry said, cutting off Lois the moment she opened her mouth. "We wouldn't be doing too well either." He looked at Clark closely, "All things considered, how are you doing?" With a gentle legilimancy prod, Harry tried entering Clark's mind. Immediately he felt the same powerful force blocking his entry. He winced slightly, but did his best to keep his face passive.

Clark sighed again, showing his tiredness. "I guess it could be worse. Chloe has been really helpful." He looked at Harry with a frown, "And you are?"

Harry blinked, "Sorry. I'm Harry, you're friend, neighbour and well, Lois' tenant."

"Oh," Clark said.

"Well, you'll get through it. Remember, you've been through this before and came out the other side swinging," Lois told him, believing what she was saying.

Clark opened his mouth, likely to say that she didn't know that, or that he might not get better. "I wouldn't argue with her," Harry advised with a small smile. "She's really stubborn." Clark smiled slightly.

"That's the spirit," Lois said with a smile. "Keep your chin up, Smallville." She pushed herself to her feet. "I'll leave you two boys to talk," she told them as she turned around.

"Why assume I wanted to talk to him in private?" Harry asked.

Lois turned and gave him a look that he was he read correctly. It said 'Please, who do you think you're asking?'. Harry smiled slightly. It made him feel a little bit better that she _could _read him somewhat given how little about him she knew. "See you back at the house," he told her.

She smirked at him, turned and left. Harry watched her disappear from view. He waited until he was sure she was gone before he spoke again, "Clark, beside the amnesia, has anything... odd, happened today?"

Clark immediately looked uncomfortable. "I don't know what you mean," he said.

"Super natural strength?" Harry asked, taking a guess at what ability of Clark's might have slipped out. If nothing had happened, he could just change the subject.

Clark opened his mouth, stopped, reconsidering what he was going to say. "You know?" he eventually asked.

Harry nodded, "I found out a few months ago and you know that I know."

"I didn't tell you?" Clark asked, not liking the sound of it.

"No, but you trust me to keep it secret from other people. Tell me, what powers have you used and who, if anyone knows?" Harry asked.

Clark frowned in concentration. "The strength, the... uh, fire starting and the X-ray eyes." He paused. "Chloe knows about all of them."

Harry just nodded. "How did she take it?"

"She... she was surprised, but she doesn't seem to mind. I don't really know why I have to keep it secret from everyone," Clark said.

Harry was pleased Chloe seemed alright with what Clark could do. At heart, she was a reporter and there was always a chance, perhaps only a small one, that she wouldn't keep it quiet. The press, as a whole, didn't like keeping people's private lives private. Thankfully, she was a friend first.

"That's good," Harry said.

"Who else knows?" Clark asked. "About me."

"A full list?" Harry asked. "I don't know. I know your parents know and I know another kid who also has a power knows," Harry told him, remembering Bart, the boy who moved at the speed of light.

"Chloe mentioned something about that," Clark said. Harry raised his eyebrows in question. "She told me that some people here were effected after a meteor shower. That we're... I'm, some sort of mutant."

Harry nodded slightly, "That's true. There have been a few people altered by a green rock that was discovered during the meteor shower. I don't think you're one of them though."

"What do you mean?" Clark asked, confused.

"The altered people have one ability. You, well, I don't know if you've even told me everything you can do."

"I can do more?" Clark asked quickly.

Harry nodded, "You can run faster than the eye can see and hear for miles." Harry shrugged, "There might be more."

Clark remained silent, staring blankly ahead. Harry recognised that his friend had too much on his mind just now and decided to leave him in peace. "Get some rest, Clark."

He stood and left, leaving Clark to think.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The next day, after receiving a call from Dr. Warner just before noon, Harry entered the Prometheus Labs through Apparition entrance. After nodding to the guard, he sought out Dr. Warner. It didn't take him long to track the man down to his office. Harry knocked and entered. Dr. Warner was sitting at his desk, a steaming mug of coffee in his hand, looking in desperate need of sleep. "Good afternoon, Harry," Dr. Warner greeted. Despite looking tired, he sounded quite invigorated.

"How did everything go?" Harry asked, shutting the office door.

"Exceptionally well," Warner told him proudly. "The final surgery was completed a little over three hours ago and the body is now... well, resting isn't the right word, but I assume you know what I mean."

"Good. Do you mind if I see it?" Harry asked.

"Not at all," Dr. Warner said, slowly getting to his feet. "Follow me."

Harry followed Warner through the room's that has been assigned for Project Evanidus. He felt the powerful wards that protected the room as he walked through. Despite his tour of the labs, everyone had done a fair job of keeping him away from this part. He hadn't even known anything was here.

Several scientists were still in the... recovery room, as he walked in. A wizard was standing over a bed in the centre of the room, casting spells on his naked body, if the mop of black hair was any indication. Having spent several hours naked in front of these men and women, he wasn't feeling particularly embarrassed anymore. Yes, some girls had seen him naked before and they'd never had a bad word to say against him, but he'd still been uncomfortable for the most part.

He slowly walked over to what was, essentially, his corpse and stared at it. In some form of morbid fascination, he couldn't look away. The body was an incredible copy of his; every scratch, every blemish, every scar was identical. It was like he was in an out of body moment, staring at his body from above. It was as fascinating as it was horrifying.

"I've seen a man's head coming out the back of another man's, I've seen a thousand year old snake fight an immortal bird of fire," Harry said half to Warner, half to himself. "I've seen my professor turn into a werewolf, I've fought a dragon and fought murders," he sighed. "But this... _this_ is probably the most freaked out I've been before and _that's _saying something."

Shaking his head, he snapped himself out of his momentary daze. He blinked a few times, bringing the rest of the world back into focus. "And does it _have_ to be naked?" he asked the room. So he hadn't _completely_ gotten over being naked in front of other people, even though the body wasn't technically him.

"Sorry, sir," one of the assistances said, covering the bodies lower half with a sheet. Harry nodded his thanks.

"So it's done?" Harry asked Warner. It looked done now, ready to be deployed wherever Zeke had planned. It still annoyed him, quite strongly, that Zeke had planned all of this without a word to him, especially since this was _his _life that was being edited and deleted. He would definitely be putting more of an effort into the comings and goings of the company, even the secret parts. He knew Zeke wouldn't betray him – the man had oaths stopping him – but you could never be too careful.

"Essentially," Warner told him. "The body, as it is, is a perfect replica of what you looked like before arriving in America. It's under several heavy stasis charms just..."

"Why the stasis charms?" Harry asked, interrupting.

"The homunculus is essentially a dead body," Warner explained. "There was nothing we could do to... keep it alive is probably the wrong term, but you get my meaning. The moment the stasis charms are removed the body will follow the path all bodies do upon their death. We don't want that to happen too early."

"Alright," Harry said. "Then what still needs to be done?"

"The body still needs to suffer the wounds you would during the staged battle that will kill you," Warner told him. "That fight needs to be planned before we can make the final marks."

"We're not going to be able to make the homunculus fight the battle, are we?" Harry asked, "I need to do it, and then vanish but leave the body," he said, answering his own questions.

Warner nodded, "I overheard one of the wizards here suggested the... the Inferious curse, but that was quickly shot down by another. I have no idea what that spell does, but apparently, not a good thing."

Harry winced at the thought of his body being turn to an Inferi. Wasn't that a nightmare image? "One thing you might not know about the magic world," Harry said. "Is that a lot of the legends you know of are true, or at least edited versions." He sighed, "Zombie stories had to come from somewhere, right?"

Warner looked curious, but still paled at the thought, "Yes, well, I imagine using that piece of magic wouldn't be a good thing."

Harry shook his head, "Not only is it evil, but the body would be too slow and too sluggish. Nor would it be able to cast any spells."

Warner checked his watched and cleared his throat, "Well, everything else is set. Zeke should be speaking with those planning the staged fight just now."

"That's it for now?" Harry asked.

"As you will be instrumental to the next part of this project, yes, I'd say we're done for now," Warner said. He yawned slightly, "Now, I'm looking forward to a good day's sleep."

Harry smiled slightly, "I'd say you've earned it."

"Thank you Harry," Warner said. "I'll be seeing you soon?"

Harry nodded, "Enjoy your day off."

Warner nodded and sluggishly walked off to the Portkey point that would take him back to his 'lab' in Marauder Tower. Deciding that he wanted to be part of this battle planning process Harry headed to the Apparition point in the lab and Apparated to a nearby alley by Marauder Tower. Deciding that they really needed a better solution than this and making a mental note to get Jenny working on this, he entered the building and made his way up to the top floor.

He entered Marauder Tower, taking the lift straight up the top floor. The lift quickly reached the top floor and Harry was soon at Michelle's office. Remembering to add his 'Alexander Black' glamour, he knocked and entered the office. "Good morning Michelle," Harry greeted.

"Morning Mr. Black. Are you here to see Mr. Griffis?" she asked.

"Is he in?" Harry asked.

"For a few hours," Michelle answered without pause. "And I don't know when he'll be finished either."

"You know what the meetings about?" Harry asked. He suspected that she didn't.

She shook her head, not all that happy about that fact, "No. He offered to explain it to me on the condition that I'm obliviated later. For obvious reasons, I decided not to take him up on his offer."

"Right," Harry said. He turned towards the office. It would look a bit odd if he just walked in, especially if the meeting was about something else entirely. An idea came to mind. He closed his eyes and concentrated on Zeke's office. Using his power he turned on all the electrical equipment in the office and then turned it off. He repeated that a couple of times before stopping. Michelle looked at him oddly and he shrugged and waited.

Moments later the door opened and Zeke stood at the door. "Alex, I thought I heard you out here. Come in," he said. He turned to Michelle, "Thank you. We should be done shortly." He closed the door.

Harry looked around the office. Three people in identical suits, both in style and colour sat around Zeke's desk, the chairs obviously conjured. Zeke placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and indicated that he join them. "Interesting trick with the lights by the way," he muttered.

Harry grinned slightly, "I wondered if that would get your attention."

Zeke rolled his eyes, "I did." He nodded toward the three seated men. "They thought we were under attack though."

Harry smiled sheepishly at him, "Oops?"

Zeke just nodded, "Your sincerity is staggering." His voice increased to normal levels, "You can remove the glamour Harry. These three know who you are for the moment."

Harry looked at Zeke curiously for a second before removing his glamour with a wave of his hand. He conjured a chair and sat down next to the three unknown men. "Gentlemen," Harry said to them with a nod. They nodded back. Harry turned to Zeke questioningly.

"Harry, meet the three men that will be responsible for your death," Zeke cheerfully said.

"If I had a sickle for every time I heard that," Harry muttered to himself. He turned to the men, "Thank you for doing this."

"You're welcome, Sir," the man nearest to him said. All three of them were young, likely Zeke's age. From what Harry could see they were in good shape and had Occlumency shields to match. At first glance Harry quickly decided that these guys would do well in a fight.

"Is everything planned out?" Harry asked Zeke.

Zeke sat and nodded. "The file in front of you is what we've planned so far." Harry picked it up and started to skim read it. "The fight needs to be quick and powerful, enough that if the memories of it are viewed in a pensive nobody will doubt them."

Harry nodded and focused on the report. Everything seemed good. Harry would carry several shopping bags with him and would be 'ambushed' by three masked people. They would dual solidly for a minute, doing what they could to do as much physical damage to the area nearby. That would was when Harry would activate his Portkey, which in turn would activate a Portkey on the Homunculus, leaving it in his place. The three 'attackers' would then check the body, remove the Portkey and then vanish before anyone turned up. On paper it seemed foolproof, but experience taught him that operations like this rarely went according to plan.

For several hours the four of them discussed and practiced what they were going to do and how he was going to die.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	27. Obliviate: Part 2

**AN:** _Here's part two! Enjoy and review! _

**Chapter 27 – Obliviate: Part 2**

Harry walked down a horrendously bright street in Santa Barbara, California. His Omni-lenses were in 'sunglass tint' mode and he had a paper bag in his arms that was full of groceries. His signature thin circle-framed glasses felt uncomfortable against his face and he resisted the urge to remove them. He'd never liked them and the day he'd swapped to his Omni-lenses had been a great day.

Whilst he knew what was going to happen, he was enjoying his walk with the ocean only a stone's throw away. What he really hated, above all else, was the clothes he was wearing. Apparently, had he worn his usual black jeans and black shirt, he would have looked out of place. In order to rectify that, he was now in a pair of white trainers, bright shorts and a tank-top. Quite honestly, he preferred being naked back in the Prometheus Lab.

The look on Lois' face should she _ever_ see him dressed like this was too horrific too imagine.

He reached the designated spot for where the battle would start and he stopped as he felt numerous wards go up. Most of these were to make sure muggles didn't turn up with camera crews and see something that would be impossible to erase at a later date. As per his instructions he immediately shut down everything that used electricity within a quarter mile radius. Zeke's research on the area had pinpointed two security cameras in streets that would catch the fighting.

He looked around warily, now acting his part. Several people were still around the area so Harry cast a minor aversion charm on himself. People quickly moved away from him, never knowing why. Seconds later three sharp cracks split the air. Harry turned sharply and saw his three attackers. He barely hid a smirk. They were dressed, from head to toe, in official Death Eater uniforms. The masks had been something from Harry's possession that he'd loaned out for the day.

The three 'Death Eater's drew their wands, pointing them at Harry. The man on the far left cast anti-apparition wards immediately. "Surrender, Potter, and you'll die quickly," the man in centre snarled. "Resist and it will be _most_ painful." His voice carried easily to the watching crowd. With a well used voice-alteration charm, the man unmistakably sounded English.

Harry laughed mockingly at the taunt, "Took you long enough find me, didn't it?" He laughed again, "Couldn't find me without your Master to hold your hands?"

"Think about what you're doing Potter! You can't beat us!" the centre man snarled again.

Harry laughed again, his fingers of his right hand itching to grab his wand and start this. He could see several people that had been within the muggle repelling charms watch them curiously. They likely thought this was some sort of street theatre. Hopefully they wouldn't do anything stupid when the fight began. "I defeated Voldemort! I know the _real_ Death Eaters died, which makes you unfit for even Voldemort's service! How do you think you can beat me?" Harry's voice was loud, carrying over to the muggles that were watching. He needed to put on a good show for whichever magic user watched this, and a show wasn't good without audio. He also needed to sound cocky and over confident. It would make his impending defeat all that more believable.

"We will make you scr..." Number One shouted, only to be cut off by Harry throwing his grocery bag at the group, pulling out his wand and banishing it towards them. The groceries, that were little more than flour, eggs and orange juice exploded upon impacting a quickly conjured shield, covering the area in a thin layer of white dust.

Harry immediately cast several destructive curses towards the three robed men and dove to the side. The curses tore up the street, sending shrapnel flying and people screaming in terror. The masked men split up, shielding and dodging the curses as planned. He threw several cutting curses towards the man on his right, shielding curses from the other men.

A blasting curse from Harry hit a nearby parked car. He hoped whoever owned it had insurance. The following explosion surprised him. He stumbled slightly but was able to maintain his balance. The centre man wasn't so lucky and was thrown forwards.

The man on the right threw the Cruciatus curse towards him and Harry threw himself to the ground to avoid it. Whilst Zeke had been completely against the idea, Harry had insisted the Unforgiveable curses had to be used. A cutting curse nicked his arm, spilling blood to the ground.

Pretending to be in more pain that he was, Harry clutched his left arm across his body, still furiously throwing spells towards his 'attackers.' A banishing charm on the loose rubble around the street sent a hail of concrete towards the robed men. Each of them cast a powerful conjuration charm, creating walls of steel before them. They ducked as the thick steel was dented and then destroyed by the banished cement.

The masked men struck back as one, putting Harry on the defensive for the first time during the duel. He blocked and blocked the incoming spells, carefully avoiding all those he knew couldn't be shielded against. With a glowing silver shield before him that he'd only ever seen Voldemort or Dumbledore cast, Harry endured the onslaught, firing back when he could.

A killing curse crashed through his shield, destroying it and knocking Harry to the ground. His heart was racing and adrenalin ran unimpeded through his body. He curbed his natural instinct to just win the battle. He had to remind himself that this was fake and he wasn't fighting to the death, he was performing.

Clearly outnumbered, Harry switched to transfiguration, transforming several large chunks of concrete into large animals. Using his favourite, and considered by some one of his signature attacks, Harry send a large stag towards the man on the left, a large black dog to the centre man and an even larger wolf to the man on the right. The Marauders rode to his rescue.

He was really beginning to get into this, enjoying the feeling of a powerful fight against uneven odds. Prongs struck the man on the left, throwing him through the air. Padfoot tackled the centre man whilst Moony tried to take a chunk out of the man on the left's arm. The man on the left was wearing dragonhide gauntlets, and so the wolf did no real damage to him. Nonetheless the man screamed, kicking sharply at the wolf. It was pushed backwards and quickly met its end with a blasting curse.

The man who destroyed the transfigured wolf turned to the man who was struggling to push Padfoot's weight off him, still casting at Harry. Two killing curses missed him, but he was avoiding these as he would in a real battle. The man fighting Padfoot had his hand prying open the large jaws of the vicious dog. With dragonhide gloves on, it did no damage to him. The man who had beaten Moony levitated Padfoot off the ground and banished him towards the third man who was having no luck with Prongs. That man had drawn the short straw in what Marauder would attack him and now had three broken ribs, courtesy of the stag. Padfoot struck Prongs hard enough to push him off the other man who was lucky not to be killed by the flying dog.

Padfoot and Prongs met their end with two powerful blasting curses. Harry began throwing curses again. When he saw the man who had slayed Moony give the designated hand signal, Harry threw several quick curses and prepared himself.

"Lumos Maxima!" the three men shouted at once. Harry's Omni-lenses were brought up to full tint, protecting his eyes, all but turning off his sense sight. That was his signal to Portkey out to a spot a mile away. Harry vanished, leaving the three men and the newly arrived Homunculus with dirty and damage clothes, a cut on its left arm, badly damaged eyes and a holly and phoenix feather wand. The blinding light vanished.

"Avada Kedavra!" the three men shouted in unison. The Homunculus, having appeared standing up, was struck in the chest with three streaks of green light. It dropped as though someone had cut a puppet's strings. The three men quickly approached the 'body'. One of the men ducked down, to those watching, checking for their victims pulse. With a quick hand he grabbed the Portkey from the back of the homunculus' head. He stood and nodded to his team.

As anticipated, the American aurors showed up after a full two minutes after the first curse had been thrown. When you had a predictable response time, you knew how long you had before you had to escape.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Five minutes before)_

David Anderson, senior auror for the L.A Law Enforcement Division, watched the group of new trainees as they ate. He would never admit it out loud, ever, they were a talented bunch; if they weren't, he wouldn't be under his mentorship. Anderson had lived a hard life, suffering extensive injuries, the loss of his brother on the job and a divorce from his wife of twenty years, but he was damn good at his job and it was his duty to his country to make sure it was protected. Although he wasn't on active duty now, he'd taken on the responsibility for training the next generation. If he couldn't fight, he'd make damn sure the rest of them could.

That was why he was in Santa Barbara with the top group of kids that had just past their second year in corps. The first two years were more instructor based training due to the large groups of those wanting to enter the auror ranks. In the third year a senior auror was able to take fifteen of the second year graduates and train them for a year, giving them a closer look into the life of an auror.

Santa Barbara held the top training facility in the West Coast. His group had been here for two days now, being pushed through rigorous exercises and scenarios. It was known that he was incredibly hard on his chosen group and, whilst it was considered and honour to be chosen by him, none of his protégés were all that fond of him. When they survived into his thirties, they'd thank him though. They always did.

The mess hall was pretty much empty, most of the aurors either out on patrol of the city or in training facilities, teaching others or improving themselves. His team had been active all morning and this was their lunch break. They would get their rest and then be thrown into the deep end again. They had a full on battle scenario later for the afternoon. It was one of his favourite exercises to put his teams through. It was difficult, the chance of injury was high _and_ they were fighting people with more experience than they had. They'd have to work as a team and they'd have to fight hard. Their chances of winning were slim, but then again, that wasn't the point of the exercise.

It was a far better teaching method than giving written test. As if _they_ ever helped an auror...

An alarm sounded around the complex. Anderson stood quickly. The alarm indicated a highly dangerous piece of magic was being used; either for doing damage or exposing the magic world to those not in the know.

He looked over to his group, quickly deciding that they were going to be the ones to deal with this. They hadn't been in a real life incident yet, and he wanted to see how they'd do. He tapped his wand to his auror badge, one that at a quick glance would pass as an FBI ID, indicating to command that he had this under control.

"Up!" Anderson shouted at the eight people he'd chosen. "You're getting your first real-life experience now. Come with me and try not to die!"

His team were quickly on their feet, wands drawn. He moved over to the nearest 'Outgoing travel' section of the complex, a small area that allowed for a quick evacuation, via Apparition or Portkey. He reached the area and looked at his team, judging their expressions and finding a large selection of differences. Some of them, the cockier of the group were showing intense interest and excitement and there were several who were trying to put on professional faces, but still looked anxious.

"We're actually going into combat?" Marie Ross asked. She was one of his more cautious recruits, but she would still make a fine auror in a few years.

Anderson grinned, "No better way of testing you lot." It was a testament of his skills as a leader, or their resentment of him, that none of the kids argued.

Another man entered the room with a coil of rope. His job, in cases of emergencies such as this was to provide the Portkey to the correct destination and pass on any information on the situation that they knew in advanced. It was always a very small amount. Without being asked he began to speak quickly, "Four man duel, just off Shoreline Drive. Wards are up, but nothing blocking Portkey travel. Spell count is extremely high and we have notification of several of the Indefensible spells being cast."

"Nothing else?" Anderson asked.

"Sorry, sir," the man said and handed over the Portkey. "You have a go on your leave. A medical team and Obliviator team will be standing by for your signal."

Anderson nodded at the man once and turned to his group. "We don't know what we're walking into here, so keep your partner covered and listen carefully to my orders. You got that?"

"Yes, sir!" they shouted back in unison.

Anderson nodded again, "Wands out and ready. Activate!"

The Portkey triggered and moments later they found themselves in what could only be described as a war zone. "Freeze!" Anderson shouted upon spotting the three hooded figures. He couldn't see the fourth man he was warned about, but they had hopefully Portkeyed out.

He felt the Anti-Apparition ward drop moments before the three robed figures vanished in with three loud _cracks_.

"Damnit!" Anderson shouted. They'd obviously been expecting company; that ward had almost been dropped before they'd arrived. He took a moment and looked around at the destruction. He hadn't seen anything like this in years. Not since the gang wars in L.A when he was a new graduate.

The street around the area was thoroughly destroyed. Huge chunks of the pavement and road had been ripped to pieces. There were two burst pipes spraying water into the air and a fire hydrant had been cut cleanly into two pieces. Half a dozen palm trees had been cut down and there were several homes that would need a lot of repair work done to them. A burnt and destroyed car sat in the middle of the destruction. Black acrid smoke rose off it, darkening the air, covering a large area of the battle field. Apart from the crackling of the burning car and the spray of the water, everything was silent.

"What the _fuck_ happened here?" he asked aloud. This shit just didn't happen anymore! Sure, those Brits had a terrorist try to screw them over, something that was apparently a great deal worse than they'd been let to believe, but that was done now and this sort of thing didn't happen here; especially with an auror headquarters only _6 miles_ away.

Snapping out of his thoughts, he tapped his wand to his badge, giving the all-clear to the cleanup teams. He then turned to his recruits who were awaiting their orders, "Harris, Summers, Jackson, I want all the non-magics that have seen this back here, interviewed and made to forget this happened. I want extracted memories, not _your_ interpretations of the events!" The three aurors, two male and one female, quickly moved off to perform their jobs,

"Rodriguez, Ross, standard containment procedures," he ordered again. They left, casting several wards around the area that would stop people leaving and draw those that left back. A crowd _would _be formed, but then, that was normal in these situations. As they had no hope of just covering this up, they'd have to make it look like a standard terrorist attack. It wouldn't be too far out of the blue, given the state of the street.

"White, I want photo's of every detail in this street," the lead auror shouted again. "Don't fuck it up!"

"Collins, Hayes, with me. Keep your eyes open!" he instructed. In a triangular formation they moved forward, each making sure they had full 360 degree vision. Anderson made sure to keep an eye completely on his surroundings, making sure they were covered from all angles. They passed by the burning car and he and Hayes caught sight of the same thing at the same time. "I see it Hayes," he muttered, keeping quiet.

They slowly made their way over to the body of who he assumed was the fourth member of this duel. The man, a young one at that, was dressed casually, not in robes like the three that vanished upon their arrival. "Collins, check for a pulse," Anderson instructed keeping an eye out on the street, not expecting one. The young man's eyes were wide open and he had a vicious cut on his arm that wasn't bleeding. That was never a good sign.

Martha Collins ducked down and with the slightest hesitation, put two fingers against the young man's neck. She held them there for a moment and gulped, "He's dead, sir."

Anderson nodded, his face set in stone. Despite having done this job for long, it was always difficult to see kid's dead. He sighed slightly, "What can you tell me?"

"Permission to cast identifying spells, sir?" Hayes asked. Anderson nodded sharply, subtly casting his own ID spells on the body. "Collins, take this down," he ordered. She removed a small notebook and pencil from an inside pocket in her black suit.

"Late teens, earlier twenties," Hayes told him. "Deep cut in his left arm, but it didn't an artery. There's a small amount of damage, likely from shrapnel from the numerous explosions. The eyes have been badly damaged, but I'm not detecting any magic having done the act; my guess, extreme light to burn out the optic lens." He frowned slightly, "There have been far too many spells cast on the body to tell what hit it, but from the opened eye stare, the death curse was used to finish him."

Anderson nodded, having come to all the same conclusions. He turned to Collins, "What else are you able to guess; scenarios, who this guy was, anything?"

Collins was silent for a moment. She turned to Hayes, "What wand is he using?"

Hayes cast his own wand over it. The wand shone green and then orange, "Holy with a... a phoenix feather core."

Anderson allowed an eyebrow to rise at that news. Phoenix feather in a wand was extremely rare and tended to be chosen by only the most powerful mages. There was one country that seemed to have a small stockpile of them though...

"I think he was British," Collins said.

"Why?" Anderson asked. He'd come to the same conclusion, but wanted to hear what Collins had said.

"The three assailants that vanished were wearing black robes. Those are typically only used in the European civilisations that still believe it's the 19th century. They also wore white skull masks, and whilst I didn't get a good enough look at them, appeared to be the same type worn by the British terrorist group that was taken down last year."

"What happened to this kid then?" he asked. He liked speculating on cases like this. Details were important in this job.

"Based on the casualness of his clothes, he was the victim of the attack and was likely ambushed by the... what are they, Death Eaters?" Anderson nodded. "They attacked him, he defended himself but was outnumbered, blinded and then hit with one, possibly more, death curses."

Anderson nodded; pleased with her guesswork. He heard sirens in the distance, ones he knew would be auror agents arriving by non-magical means. "Hayes, keep an eye on the body; do _not_ touch it until White has documented it. Collins and I will continue the sweep." He strode off, waving his wand around in intricate patterns, searching for any invisible people, animagi, or monitoring charms. He instructed Collins to do the same. If he found anything, he'd let her find it first. As it was, there was nothing about.

"Boss!" Hayes shouted from two dozen feet behind him. He and Collins turned sharply, wands at the ready. There was nothing. "You'll want to see this!" Hayes shouted again, his attention on the body.

Wondering what Hayes discovered he quickly made his way back to him. "What have you got?" Anderson asked again.

"Sir, does this guy look familiar to you?" Hayes asked.

Anderson looked at the body, taking care to see the kid's appearance this time, instead of the wounds. As Hayes had worked out earlier, the kid was likely earlier twenties, in casual dress. His hair was dark black and his eyes green. He wore glasses that were miraculously still on his face _and_ unbroken, he had a scar cutting across one eye that appeared to connect to another scar on his forehead shaped like a....

"Oh you have to be fucking _kidding_ me," he muttered. This was _not_ good.

"What have I missed?" Collins asked. "What am I not seeing?"

Anderson just looked at Collins, his face showing no emotion. He never just gave his aurors answers; they had to work things out by themselves. This sometimes got them injured, but they were better aurors for it in the end. Collins looked down at the body and he could see her running each detail of the kid's body through her mind. It only took a few seconds before her eyes widened slightly.

"That's..."

"Yeah," Anderson told her. "The Boy-who-lived and the most sought after presence in the magical world." A year ago, perhaps a bit less, only a few people in the West new all that much about Harry Potter. When British Wizarding History was studied, usually as an after-course once you graduated from Magic High, Harry Potter was briefly mentioned near the end. Magic Scholars argued back and forth about how a baby, or anyone for that matter, could survive the death curse, but that was it really.

Now though, there were probably only a handful of people left in the world that didn't know him. The stories started the day after he vanished from Great Britain. The boy had taken down a fully fledged Dark Lord and ruined the economy of Magical Britain in the space of half an hour. He had then just completely vanished after being banished by the man who used to be their Minister for Magic.

A goblin rebellion took place and they quickly took control of a large part of the country. It was only the intervention of the ICW that allowed British magic users and goblins to come to an accord. They now lived in a tentative peace where they worked together to run the country.

Once that story had died down the search for Harry Potter came to full light. Interviews from those who knew him, stories about what feats he'd accomplished and just about everything else about him became public. He was quickly regarded as one of the most powerful magic user alive as well as one of the most dangerous. The Europeans, having been calling him a Dark Lord for months, rescinded their claims and welcomed him back with open arms... as did every other major world power.

Every powerful government wanted Potter working for them, but no one had a clue where he was. People of Potter's power were quite rare, only two or three appearing per generation, and one so young was almost unheard of. Rumour had it that he was in America, but those that had access to those records hadn't been too forthcoming.

Now, he was dead on a destroyed Santa Barbara street.

"This isn't good, is it?" Collins asked.

"That depends," Anderson told her. "We need to see what memories Harris, Summers and Jackson pick up. I shouldn't be saying this, but if the people that killed him were British and part of the Death Eater group, things won't get as loud."

He glanced away from Hayes and Collins as several black 4x4's, with tinted windows, an ambulance and a fire engine arrived. Anderson sighed; this day was going to be a very long one.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry watched the auror investigation team arrive from a nearby rooftop, safely hidden in his animagus form. Immediately after Apparating away from the staged duel he'd transformed and flown back to watch. It was a risky thing to do, especially as the lead auror had thoroughly scanned the area for any hidden presences. Luckily, Harry had been far away enough to remain undetected.

As his hearing wasn't too far beyond what he considered normal, he hadn't been able to hear what the three aurors that found him were saying, but his eye sight was more than good enough to pick up their reactions. It had taken a few minutes, but Harry knew for certain that they were aware of who he was. That was good.

Whilst nothing beyond the normal happened over the next few hours, Harry kept his perch, watching the investigation take place. He occasionally flew down to where the people were to listen to some conversation, but he mostly stayed out of the way.

He stayed on his perch until everything quieted down before transforming and Disapparating.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry arrived in back in Metropolis, tired from the duel and the magic used, but happier than he'd been in quite a while. The duel had been incredible. Whilst he trained frequently with the practice dummies in the training area under Marauder Tower, _nothing_ compared the rush of a proper fight. He found himself missing the action his life often found.

With a few transfiguration spells, Harry transformed his California clothes into a respectable Jeans and shirt and walked towards Marauder Tower. With a smile on his face he made his way to the top floor and found Zeke's office. Remembering to cast his 'Mr. Black' glamour at the last moment, he knocked on Zeke's secretarie's door and waited for an answer. He waited for a moment and found himself surprised to see Zeke answer the door.

"Come in Harry. Michelle has gone home for the evening," Zeke told him as he moved aside.

They walked to Zeke's office. The room was dark, the only source of light a lamp on Zeke's desk and the city of Metropolis behind him. "Drink?" Zeke asked, walking over to his wet-bar.

"Something strong," Harry asked. After his day, he could do with it.

"The wizard stuff then," Zeke agreed with a nod, tapping his wand to a locked cabinet at the bottom of the wooden bar. He pulled out a bottle of wizard made alcohol that shone in a multi-hued colourand poured two decent sized glasses. He handed one to Harry. "To a successfully faked death," Zeke toasted.

The clinked their glasses together. "It's all gone according to plan?" Harry asked hopefully.

Zeke nodded, taking a drink from his glass. "The news isn't officially public yet, but the word is out that Harry Potter was murdered today. There isn't any doubt that this wasn't real."

Harry allowed himself to relax slightly and took a small sip of the strange drink Zeke had given him. It was clearly strong and likely very potent, but it tasted quite sweet. He liked it. "That's good to know Zeke. Did you get a debriefing from the nameless assassins?" he asked. They had refused to give him names, even faked ones citing that it wasn't relevant.

Zeke nodded, "I met them at the Portkey drop off point. They relayed that everything had gone to plan and that they'd never wish to fight you for real."

Harry couldn't stop a smile from breaking out on his face. "I wouldn't want to fight me either."

"You enjoyed yourself?" Zeke asked after a slight paused.

Harry sighed in pleasure, "I haven't enjoyed myself like that in months. It's probably not a healthy thing, but I do miss fights like that."

"With your luck, I doubt it will be that long before something similar happens." Zeke didn't sound all that happy about it.

"One can hope," Harry said. "So, what happens now?"

"Everything's done," Zeke said. "Everyone involved in this apart from myself and Dr. Warner have been obliviated of any knowledge that this project existed and..."

"Wait, _everyone _was obliviated?" Harry asked, surprised.

"Of course," Zeke told him as though it was obvious. "Whilst the staff are under charmed contracts, information can be forcibly taken from them. This way, it's safer."

"Obliviations can be countered," Harry retorted, remembering the chaos that followed Bertha Jorkins having her memories restored by Voldemort. "And if they are, it's pretty obvious that they're hiding secrets then."

"A proper Obliviate is a difficult thing to overcome," Zeke countered again. "Only very few have the ability to do it."

"So what do the people that worked on this remember?" Harry asked.

"They are aware that they've worked on a secret project for several months and that they agreed to have the knowledge of it erased after it was completed."

"And the data on the project?" Harry asked.

"Safely stored away."

"That's, well, good I guess," Harry finally said. He glanced at his watched and saw that it was getting late. "I should be leaving," Harry said, finishing his drink and getting to his feet. "You did well today Zeke," he told the man, holding out his hand. Zeke shook it. Before he could let go Harry gripped Zeke's hand harder, using the smallest amount magic to do so. "Try not to keep things like this secret again though. Alright?"

Zeke nodded, "Of course."

"And there's nothing else going on that I should know about?" Harry asked, still with Zeke's hand in his.

"Nothing that you don't already know," Zeke promised.

"Good," Harry said with a smile. With a slight shock of electricity into Zeke's hand, he let go. Zeke shook his suddenly numb hand back and forth trying to get some feeling back into it. "Good night Zeke," Harry said as he turned and left.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated to the front of his house, glad to see his arrival was unnoticed. He walked through the front door and immediately heard Lois' voice, "Harry?" she asked.

"Hey Lois," Harry said.

He found her on the couch with her mobile phone to her ear. "Listen Lucy," she said, speaking to her sister. "I've got to go. Behave, alright." He didn't hear what Lois' sister said, but Lois rolled her eyes. "Bye." She hung up the phone and dropped it on the couch. "Lucy says hi."

"How is she?" Harry asked, sitting down on the single-seater.

"Disturbingly nice," Lois told him.

"That's... that's good, right?" Harry asked, unsure.

"It's odd. She's never been this nice to me," Lois said. "Funny that should happen just after she met you," Lois remarked with a piercing glance.

Harry quite clearly remembered the talk he'd had with Lucy after she'd tried scamming them and was pleased that something had come out of it. "I guess I'm just a good influence," Harry remarked dismissively.

"Right," Lois said sarcastically. Harry smiled slightly. "What did you do with your day then? Cute note by the way."

Harry grinned at the _'Gone whoring. Back after I filled my quota' _note he'd left on the fridge before leaving this morning. "Oh you know," Harry said. "Multiple felonies, broke countless laws and committed fraud at an extreme level. Just one of those days." As perceptive as Lois usually was, he could easily get away with telling her complete truths and her ignoring them, thinking he was just trying to be funny.

"Par for my day then," Lois said after rolling her eyes.

"How's Clark, by the way?" Harry asked curiously, hoping his friend was doing better.

"Smallville's been put back together again," Lois told him. "He's had his memory back for a few hours now."

Harry sank into his chair, "There's a story behind this, isn't there? He didn't just get his memory back with another smack to the head."

"It wouldn't be Smallville without one," Lois said. "Right, so Chloe did her investigative-reporter thing and tracked down the guy that screwed up Smallville's head." She shrugged, "Some kid called Kevin Grady. Anyway." Lois took another sip of her beer, "Chloe tracked down this guy. We went to his house and it turns out, Kevin's father works for Summerholt Institute. Ever heard of it?"

"The Neurological Research place?" Harry asked. "I've heard of it." He'd read a few things about Summerholt whilst time at MI. Several pieces of technology used in the Prometheus Labs for scanning the brain of magic users and GME's was owned by Summerholt. Their work was on the fringes of science, and a bit unorthodox, but they brought home some incredible findings. Zeke had been planning on adding Summerholt to MI's ever increasing portfolio after the business with Swann Communications settled. Having ownership over the technology that Summerholt had would be very helpful to the work Prometheus was doing.

"They apparently do good work," Harry commented.

"Just not on the legal or ethical side of the fence," Lois told him darkly.

"What happened?"

Lois waved a hand at him, "You're jumping ahead." Harry nodded and stayed silent. "The kid's father told us how Kevin accidentally shot his brother whilst on a hunting trip and disappeared due to guilt. Chloe and I didn't buy it, so she broke in to Summerholt to see what she could find," Lois finished with a smug smile.

Harry just snorted. _This _was going to end well.

Lois nodded in agreement to Harry's snort. "Turns out Kevin's father had killed his son, not Kevin, and was using Summerholt to try rid himself of the guilt."

Harry looked at Lois, horrified. "That's… that's evil," he told her.

Lois nodded in complete agreement. "Anyway, Chloe gets captured and leaves it up to me to rescue her." She shook her head in annoyance, "Smallville up and vanished on me, so I called Sheriff Adams and went to Summerholt. The receptionist _finally_ let us through and we find Clark and Chloe in a wrecked lab. The doofus was just standing there while Chloe was strapped to this freakish bed thing. And that was my weekend," Lois finished with a small grin. "Bet you wish you'd been here now." Harry wasn't quite sure how sarcastic she was being.

Harry blinked, running through the information. It didn't seem like a wizard had been in Smallville, but this Kevin guy seemed to have the ability to wipe memories like an Obliviator. That was another GME he had to see about tracking down. "Sounds... interesting," Harry remarked. "And everything's back to normal now?"

Lois shrugged, "Smallville doesn't remember anything that happened in the last 24 hours and Chloe seemed pretty freaked out, but then, she's been like that all day."

"It was probably difficult for her, seeing Clark like he was," Harry told her, knowing it was because she now knew about Clark's powers. "What did you say the mind-wiping kid was called?" Harry asked.

"Kevin Grady. Why?" Lois asked curiously.

Harry just shook his head, committing the name to memory. "Nothing. I thought it sounded familiar, but it's not." From Lois' mind Harry pulled up and image of Kevin and remembered the details. Choosing this moment as one to relax after his stressful weekend, Harry cleared his mind and turned to the muted TV screen, "So, what are we watching?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Monday May 16__th__ 2005 - Morning)_

Harry stood outside of Smallville High, mobile phone to his ear. "Alexander Black's office," Jenny said, answering her phone.

"Morning Jenny," Harry said.

"You're calling early," she remarked. "What do you need?"

"A new GME found. There were a few incidents here this weekend. I want to talk to him, but he's taken off. Think you could put the word out?"

"Of course," Jenny answered, typing quickly. "Details?"

"Kevin Grady, late teens, light brown hair, brown eyes."

"Power?"

"Memory erasure," Harry told her. "Very new to the power and he apparently doesn't have much control."

"That's everything you have?" she asked.

"On him, pretty much. It might worth noting that Summerholt are responsible for this. Can you pass on my suggestion to Zeke that if we're going to buy Summerholt, we should maybe move that up a bit before playing god ruins them?" Harry recommended.

"I'll pass that along to Mr. Griffis when he gets out of his morning meeting," Jenny promised. "Isn't playing god exactly what you're doing at Prometheus Labs?" she asked. There was no accusation in her voice, just curiosity.

"Prometheus stole fire from the gods and gave it to mankind. We're not creating anything in those labs," Harry told her, completely ignoring the fact that they'd made his corpse there. "We're just stealing a powerful creation and passing it on to a world that needs it. Or, that's the plan at any rate."

"If you say so Harry," Jenny told him.

"Thank you," Harry said dryly. "Enjoy your day." He snapped his phone shut and walked into the school. He had half an hour before class and he intended to find Chloe before then. He wasn't quite sure _why_ he was doing what he could to protect Clark's secret, but that was what he appeared to be doing. Knowing that Chloe would already be in the Torch office, he looked for her there.

The door was open and he could hear Clark and Chloe inside. "Chloe, I need you to be completely honest with me," Clark told her, his voice serious. Harry could hear how nervous he was, despite Clark doing a good job at hiding it.

"Alright," Chloe said. Harry could hear that she too was nervous.

"What'd I do?" Clark asked.

There was a moment of silence. "You trusted me," Chloe said, her voice quiet.

Harry was fairly sure what they were talking about, but still didn't know what Chloe knew. He made his presence known. "Morning," he said as he walked into the newspaper office.

Clark nodded in greeting, having seen Harry already this morning. "The lost boy returns," Chloe remarked with a grin.

Harry winced slightly. "A new nickname?" he asked. "It wasn't like I vanished of the face of the earth. I was here last night."

Chloe just shrugged, a smile lingering on her lips. "You have more nicknames we don't know of?" she asked, interested.

"Had," Harry corrected. He wasn't that guy anymore; that guy had died in California yesterday. "So," Harry said, looking to change the conversation and find out what he was looking for. "Have a good weekend?" he asked Chloe.

Releasing his control on his legilimancy, he slipped into her mind, waiting for the images of the weekend to run through her mind. He didn't hear her reply.

_Chloe watched in completed shock as Clark ripped the front door of his home, before tossing it across the yard, completely surprised by his own strength._

_Clark laid eyes on Lana, a look of rapture on his face. A lamp on a nearby table burst into flames, right where Clark averted his eyes._

"_Well, I-I could—I-I guess… I-I can see through things," Clark said as he saw through the Talon counter and a mat to unveil a clue to whoever wiped his memory. Slipping further into shock, Chloe closed her jacket, unsure of what to do with this new information._

Having been given his confirmation that Chloe knew about Clark he pulled back. He saw Chloe and Clark looking at him expectantly. He'd obviously been asked a question. "Um.... yeah..." Harry answered uncomfortably. "Clark, can I speak to you for a second?" He turned and walked from the Talon office. Clark and Chloe shared a confused look before Clark followed him out.

"What's wrong?" Clark asked, concerned.

"Chloe knows," Harry told him.

"What?" Clark asked, anxious.

"I don't know all she knows, but she knows about three of your powers. At least three," Harry corrected.

"How do you know?" Clark asked, glancing in the direction of the Talon.

"You told me last night," Harry told Clark. "And I just saw the memories that prove it."

"She didn't say anything," Clark said confused.

Harry shrugged, "Maybe she was waiting for _you _to tell her. I don't know what you want to do now, but I thought you should know."

Clark glanced back to the Talon door before turning back to Harry. "Can't... can't you make her, I don't know, forget?" Clark asked uncertainly. The guilt at asking such a thing was clear in his eyes.

Harry shook his head, "I can't. I can just make people completely forget things, not replace. If I did, she would forget everything that happened in the last couple of days. I'm not comfortable with that." His skills in Obliviation where rudimentary at best. He could do the simple things, but nothing more. The only thought he could put into someone's head was that they just fell asleep. That obviously wouldn't work this time.

Clark still looked worried. "Just talk to her," Harry suggested.

"It's not that simple," Clark told him. "People who know my secret are in danger. _You _can protect yourself, Chloe can't."

Harry nodded in understanding. "From what I've heard, you've had her back covered for years and I've been known to help people out in tight spots." Clark still looked undecided, so Harry decided to leave him be. He understood revealing a big secret was difficult. He'd fretted over telling Ron and Hermione the second Trelawney Prophecy for months before he finally told them. "See you in class," Harry told Clark, turning and walking away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Clark stood in the same spot for a moment watching Harry leave, with no idea what to do. Should he tell Chloe the truth, make up some sort of lie about the amnesia giving him super powers? Chloe _had_ been his best friend since 8th grade, she understood him and he'd felt guilty about lying to her for years. Was this his chance to finally tell her the truth?

A couple of years ago he'd told Pete, his other best friend about his secret. He hadn't really noticed, but Pete had told him how difficult it was to keep the secret quiet. Eventually it had driven Pete away from him and out of Smallville. Could he do that to Chloe? Could he burden her with his secret?

He didn't know, but then, did he even have a choice now?

**OoOoOoOoO**

Kevin Grady opened his eyes as he felt the sun shining brightly in his face. He slowly sat up and looked around the dingy motel room he'd stayed in. He rubbed his eyes with the back of his hand and yawned. Despite having slept for eight hours, he was still tired. His dreams had been restless; a mirage of two conflicting events running through his mind. Despite now knowing which one was the real event and which one was false, they both felt real and both hurt equally.

A few months ago Kevin had been just a normal guy. He had graduated high school the year before and was taking a few classes in Central Kansas A&M. He enjoyed going to the Motocross, hunting with his father, and just hanging with his younger brother, Dylan.

It was whilst hunting that his life was completely changed. One day, 34 days ago to be exact, he had been hunting with his father and Dylan when, whilst reloading his gun, he'd pulled the trigger and accidentally shot his brother. Death had been instantaneous. His father, a senior level scientist at Summerholt had opted to try and remove Kevin's memory of killing his brother in order to get him past it. The procedure hadn't worked, but his father resolutely said he would continue until the incident was forgotten.

During a day off from these procedure's he'd been simply walking through Metropolis when someone roughly grabbed him by the shoulder. He had turned quickly, and raised his hand in defence. His hand had felt... well, almost indescribable. It was as if something was just pouring from his hand. The man who'd turned him had looked at Kevin in shock for a moment before blinking, looking around in confusion and asking Kevin what the hell was going on.

After a very strange conversation Kevin came to the conclusion that the man who'd grabbed him had no idea what had happened in the last few minutes. Kevin also came to realise that whatever had happened to his hand had been the cause of this amnesia. After a bit of experimentation, Kevin eventually came to the conclusion that he could erase memories, only up to a few minutes, of anyone he wanted. Having no idea what had happen and worried he'd been looked at as a freak, he kept quiet.

Shortly after he came to realise his strange ability he began to question his own memory of what happened the day his brother died. He clearly remembered shooting his brother, but when he slept he saw different things. The dreams were never clear, often changing night by night, but they felt more real than the real thing.

He began to seriously question the validity of what he remembered. Eventually, unsure of what was real and what was false, added to the fact that he remembered killing his brother, he knew he needed to leave. Looking his father in the eye was so difficult. The pain in guilt he saw in the eyes of the man that raised him was too much.

He'd waited for the lunch time rush at the Talon and began his first plan for leaving Smallville; getting money. After grabbing all the notes from the cash register and wiping the memory of the angry barista who had noticed him, he quickly left the Talon. Some guy had then tried confronting him as he left in his pickup, but a mind wipe made sure he was forgotten.

He'd stocked up on food and was ready to leave Smallville when he realised that he couldn't. He needed to know what had really happened with to his brother before moving on. He went to the forest where his brother had been shot and came face to face with the guy who'd tried confronting him outside the Talon.

Shocked at finding out the guy had complete amnesia, Kevin listened as the guy began discussing his brother's death. After a few insightful words from the guy he didn't know, Kevin came to realise that his father had been behind the death of his brother, not him.

Not sure what to do with this new information and feeling really guilty about completely wiping this guys mind the day before, he apologised, and said, that whilst Summerholt could probably help, he couldn't get in.

He'd been wrong and, a few hours later, they were breaking into the medical facility. The guy in the red jacket, Clark, had fallen behind and he'd continued onward. What happened next was still a bit of a blur. He'd confronted his father, been knocked unconscious, watched his father try erase the mind of one of Clark's friends, watched Clark intercept the energy beam for the blonde girl, and then _catch_ two extremely heavy pieces of lab equipment before tossing them aside. From the looks on the faces of the three other people in the room, they had no idea that Clark was capable of that. Making a quick decision he used his powers to make the three spectators forget what had happened.

Having a quick talk with Clark who now had all his memories back, he left Smallville, feeling a little bit better about his new found ability. He wasn't the only person in this world that was different, that had a secret. He still wasn't too keen on being _so _different, but he no longer thought of himself as a freak.

Getting up from his uncomfortable, yet still serviceable motel bed, he showered, thinking hard about what to do next with his life. Leaving Smallville had been a necessary thing, but he didn't really have much of a plan. He had an aunt in Gotham City that he could stay with for a while, but that couldn't be a long term plan. He needed to decide what to do now.

A knock on his door startled him. He pulled on a clean t-shirt and cautiously moved towards the door. He looked through the peep hole in the door, not sure who he was expecting to find. Two people, a man with dark hair and a blonde woman stood a few feet back from the door. He let out of sigh of relief upon realising that they weren't cops.

He took a step back from the door and unlocked it. "Can I help you?" he asked, doing his best to ignore the scar that ran across the face on the black haired man.

"Kevin Grady?" the black haired man asked. His accent was English.

Kevin tensed, ready to wipe the minds of these two people and run at the slightest harsh movement. "Who are you?" Kevin asked bluntly.

The black haired man blinked, "Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Harry Evans and this is Alicia Baker. May we come in?" he asked, glancing over Kevin's shoulder.

"Alright," Kevin said, stepping back. He didn't trust these people and didn't want to speak with them, but things would be simpler if he wiped their recent memories whilst they were hidden inside his motel room. That would give him a few extra minutes to escape.

"Thank you," Alicia said politely as they both walked in.

Kevin shut the door, not taking his eyes off the strangers. "Why are you here?" he asked as soon as the door shut. He watched the expressions on the stranger's faces carefully. The black haired man, Harry, looked almost amused and the blonde girl, Alicia, looked at him compassionately.

"I work for a company called Marauder Industries and I'm here to offer you a job," Harry told him easily.

"A job?" Kevin asked sceptically, not sure what was happening. "Why would you offer me a job?" He didn't have a college degree and he'd only achieved fair marks in school. There was no way job hunters would be looking for him.

"Can I get you to promise, that until I've had my say, that you won't react in any... offensive manner?" Harry asked. The cautiousness in his voice was clear and Kevin noticed him tense slightly. Alicia looked a little nervous.

"Alright," Kevin said, having a suspicion of why they were here now. He'd need to hear more, and know who had passed his name on, before wiping their minds.

"Thank you," Harry said with a nod. "Now, Alicia and I know of your newly discovered power at memory erasure, as I suspect you were already somewhat aware of. That's why we're here."

"And you want me to work with you?" Kevin asked, not seeing any point denying what he could do. "How do you know about me?"

"I know you're from Smallville and I know most of what happened there, my friends being the main force that helped you get as far as you did."

"Your friends?" Kevin asked.

"Lois, the woman from the Talon that you stole from, Clark, the man whose entire life you erased, and Chloe, the woman your father tried to experiment on," Harry said. Despite Harry's tone of voice being level, Kevin could hear an edge of steel there. None the less, he was still ashamed of everything that happened in Smallville.

"I'm sorry about that," Kevin apologised.

Harry nodded. "I understand. Now, what I'm offering you will be something you'll want to decline immediately, but I promise you that you'll be in no danger and free to leave at any time. You're situation is unique, which is why Alicia is with me," Harry told him. "Alicia is like you," Harry added.

"Like me?" Kevin asked quickly. "She can do the same thing that I can?"

"No," Alicia said. "I can... I can teleport." Offering proof of her words, Alicia vanished for a brief second, appearing at the other side of Harry. He took a step back in surprise. "I work at place called Prometheus Labs where we study those people that have been genetically altered or are genetically different."

Kevin tensed and almost attacked their minds on pure instinct. They wanted him to go back to a lab? He'd just escaped from one! "You want me to go back to a lab?" he asked, angrily verbalising his thoughts.

Harry held out a hand in a placating gesture. "Yes and no," he offered. "You're free to refuse my offer and if you do accept, you're free to leave at any time. No one will stop you. Can I tell you what this job would offer?" he asked.

"Alright," Kevin nodded, having already decided to turn down the offer, but seeing no harm in them explaining themselves.

"You come to the lab for a month. You'll be free to move around and free to leave the facility at any time. You let the scientists scan you, test and document your ability and what you're capable of. In return you'll be paid highly for your time, and you'll leave with more than enough money to support yourself for a while."

"That's it?" Kevin asked. There was obviously a catch to this.

"That's the first offer," Harry told him. "If you do accept that and stay for the month, more will be offered."

"More?" Kevin asked.

"If you're compliant during the month and feel no overwhelming urge to leave, you'll be offered further employment and education, as well as the offer to train you in your abilities to find your full potential."

"What's the catch?" Kevin asked.

"Catch?" Harry asked with a smile. "You sign a non-disclosure agreement that would be unadvisable to break, and, well, that's it."

"Let me get this straight," Kevin asked. "You pay me a lot of money to scan me, and if I play nice you look after me?"

Harry grinned slightly, "That's the simple version."

"So if you're here to offer me this, why is she here?" he said, glancing at Alicia.

"Other than my ride here?" Harry asked with a small grin at the blonde who smiled slightly. "Alicia?" he asked.

The blonde looked at him. "I was in your position a few months ago. I hurt Clark, and after coming to my senses I left. Harry found me and offered me the same thing he offered you. I... I'd spent a year in Belle Reeve and I didn't want to go back to somewhere like that. I declined and moved. It was apparent later on that no one wanted to employ a girl with no high school diploma, who had spent a year in a mental institution. I took Harry up on his offer, and here I am."

"What did you get out of it?" Kevin asked. He could hear the honesty in the girl's voice and saw no signs of deception on her face.

"I was always interested in science and I'm smart, so I was offered a job at the lab, learning from some of the brightest minds in the world, I'm attending night classes at Met U. on a scholarship they provided and they have people teaching me how to use my power."

"And what do they get out of this?" he asked Alicia, glancing at Harry.

"I'm at their disposal if more scans are needed to be done and a minimum of me working for them for four years after I have my degree."

"Four years?" Kevin asked.

"Four years of education for four years work," Harry told him. "She's working with us in the mean time, so the agreement isn't a strict as it is with others.

Kevin found himself tempted to accept now. Harry's offer had sounded good, but he didn't trust him. Alicia had been the selling point, which was exactly what Harry had wanted. She was honest, Kevin knew that much, and she had nothing bad to say the company.

"How long do I have to think about this?" Kevin asked.

Harry and Alicia smiled. "As long as you want," Harry said. "If we don't hear from you again we won't bother you again. It would be great to have you work with us and we both stand to learn a lot, but we won't force you and you won't be hurt or experimented on against your will," Harry promised.

Kevin stood in silence for a moment. "You said there were people who could help me with what I can do?" he asked.

"They're not the same, and it's just a guess, but I believe we have people that can help," Harry told him.

Kevin had already pretty much made up his mind by now. This did sound like a good offer and Alicia seemed pleased with what she received from them. Taking one last shot at Harry he asked, "And how can I trust you to keep the end of your deal?"

Harry surveyed him for a long moment. For a second, he thought he saw Harry's eyes flash slightly. He eventually shrugged, waved his right hand slightly and clicked his fingers. Kevin heard something shift behind him. He turned just in time to see the bed he'd spent the night on slowly transform into a much larger, very regal looking four posted bed. He quickly turned back to Harry.

"Because I'm not normal either."

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:**_ READ! I've burnt my left hand and as such, typing pretty much hurts. As I have little written after this, don't be too surprised if I take a while to update again. Oh, and this is a long shot, but if anyone from the North East of Scotland reads this, give me a shout._


	28. Perspective

**AN:** _First of all… I'm really REALLY sorry about the long wait for this chapter. The delay initially started with me burning my left hand, but that only lasted a little over a week. To those who sent me a sympathetic word, thank you, although I gather that most people felt as though I'd melted the skin from my bones… It really wasn't that horrendous. Thank you for the kind words none the less._

_My excuses kept escalating from there… and well, that caused a huge delay. It's hopefully over now as I've started writing again. We'll see how long that lasts…_

_Enjoy and please review!_

**Chapter 28 – Perspective**

_(Chloe Sullivan)_

Chloe Sullivan sat at her desk in the Torch office staring at her computer monitor, thinking hard. She paid no attention to the article about the football team she had been in the process of writing. During the last few days she had been quite distracted and her writing had suffered slightly because of it.

She had always known Smallville was a weird place; she'd been studying the phenomenon that had plagued Smallville since the meteor shower, but she had never expected that Smallville weirdness to hit _so close_ to home.

Her best friend Clark had always been a bit of blind spot for her. For years she had suffered through an unrequited attraction for him whilst he lusted after her best female friend, Lana Lang. It was her attraction to him that she blamed for missing something so _completely_ obvious. She couldn't believe that she'd never seen it before.

It didn't do her journalistic ego any good to know she has missed so much.

Recently, Clark had suffered from a second dose of amnesia this year after chasing down a man who robbed the Talon, right under her cousin's nose. She had found him minutes later, sitting on the ground with no idea what had happened, where he was or _who_ he was. She had quickly thought about taking him to a hospital, but knowing that Clark avoided being admitted to hospitals as strongly as he could, she decided to take him back to her home. Given the fact that this _was _Smallville, it was highly possible the Doctors are the medical centre would have no idea what had happened. She had tried calling the Kent's a dozen times, but hadn't been able got through. As Mr. Kent had a weekend long heart exam, she wasn't surprised, but it was a bit unfortunate.

She had taken him home as she came up with a came plan. They'd spent an hour looking through several photo albums and she talked to him about things they'd done in the past, trying to jog his memory. Nothing worked.

In a second effort to try jog his memory, she brought him to his farm. It was then the strange day slipped into the truly bizarre. Clark had grabbed the doorknob of the locked front door of his house and pulled it open. Clark had then proceeded to rip the door from its hinges and it across the front yard of his house as though it weighted nothing. She had stared at Clark in shock for a second before rationalising that maybe whatever caused his amnesia had temporarily given him powers. That sort of thing had happened before in Smallville and wasn't that much of a surprise. It was rather common in fact.

As the day progressed and she was given a chance to think, she began to reconsider her original hypothesis. As Clark began to display more and more powers, she thought back through the time since she and Clark had been friends. Clark had always been part of the mysteries of the town, discovering and thwarting them at least once a month. He'd only ever been injured or sick a handful of times that she could remember and he had a tendency to vanish when things got hot, only to save the day by some inexplicable means.

She'd always passed this off as luck and Clark's hero complex.

Perhaps there was more to it.

It had been a shock to come to the conclusion that her friend had always had these secrets and that he'd hidden them from her. It had hurt at first, the thought that he couldn't trust her, but she knew she had seriously wronged Clark a few times over the years, almost destroying his trust in her several times. Whilst she would never betray Clark again, she understood why Clark might think she would. It wasn't a pleasant thought, but she vowed to be a better friend to him once this amnesia thing was over.

Then, as quickly as it started, Clark was cured and his memory returned. That was, everything but the last 24 hours. Clark now had no idea that she knew his secret, that he'd been changed in the meteor shower. Despite knowing this, she had no intention of mentioning it to him. She would keep his secret and wait until he deemed her worthy enough.

Clark had spoken with her and she'd told him that the only thing he'd done differently with a fresh start was trust her. He had believed her and she thought the matter dropped.

That was when the _other_ big mystery of Smallville had literarily walked into her office.

Harry Evans was something of an enigma. The guy had clearly had a hard life, that much was obvious, but there were so many question marks hanging over his head that she could barely see straight. He had his story, where he'd come from, what had happened in his early life, and then... nothing. All they knew was that he'd gone to a boarding school in Scotland for a few years, decided he needed to leave and somehow ended up 4000 miles away, alone.

Despite all his mystery, she trusted him. She was somewhat wary of him, but Lois trusted him completely and had in fact been sharing a house with him for months. Clark certainly trusted him and, for knowing him for such a short time, seemed quite relaxed around him. Knowing Clark like she did, she knew that was a bit strange. He'd always had a tight group of friends, not letting others in his circle. Lana had been the only exception, but then, Clark was in love with her. She still hadn't worked out why Harry had become a confidant to him.

None-the-less, there was something very odd about Harry. During her first meeting with him, as she'd interviewed him for the Torch, she had gotten the impression that he could read minds. He seemed almost supernaturally perceptive and to this day, he remained so. There had also been a moment when he'd tensed at the word 'freak' and thunder had roared overhead at the same moment. As it had been a nice summer evening at the time, the small thunder storm that followed was most unusual.

The local weather station had all but ignored this anomaly, blaming global warming.

_She _believed it was the work of something supernatural.

It was after she and Clark had talked that she was given a bit more proof, a bit more evidence, that there was more than met the eye with Harry Evans. Clark had just accepted the fact that he had done nothing out of the ordinary whilst suffering from amnesia when Harry had walked in. He had looked her in the eyes, his emerald green eyes boring into hers, and then he'd asked Clark to speak with him, completely ignoring the question she had asked.

Clark had left the room and came back in two minutes later with a changed expression on his face. He'd asked her again, in such a way that screamed _'I know'_, if he'd done anything unusual. Coming to a quick conclusion that Harry had told Clark she knew his secret, she had admitted it, telling him each of the abilities she'd seen him use.

Clark had listened with an almost crushed air about him as she revealed what she knew. It wasn't difficult to see that Clark was worried about her knowing. She had promised him, swearing on her life, that she would _never _betray him, that she would die first, and he'd finally relaxed slightly, revealing more information than she'd ever imagined.

Excepting the fact that Clark Kent was a meteor freak had been difficult; accepting the _truth _was... it was out of this world.

Clark's revelation had also revealed something else to her; Harry knew Clark's secret. Had Clark trusted him with it? No, she didn't think so. If she hadn't been told and Lana hadn't been told, he wouldn't trust Harry after only knowing the guy for such a short time. This left the theory that Harry had stumbled across the secret by accident and that Clark hadn't been able to lie his way out of it. The question now was why was Clark so relaxed around Harry if Harry knew this incredible secret? Again, her instincts screamed that Harry also had a power, and that Clark knew of it as well. She'd have to see what more she could mind on the mystery man from England.

She saved and minimized her article before tracking down the information she could access on Harry. Most of this, in fact, nearly all of it, was illegally obtained. Such a thing never stopped her though.

She brought up Harry's information and froze.

It was different.

She blinked, making sure she wasn't seeing things. She wasn't. She read through the information again and then brought up some screen captures of this information. His date of birth was different; the day and the year he was born, making him a year older than he was before. Typing quickly, Chloe brought up more information on Harry, from different sources. All of these said the same thing; Harry Evans was a year older than his information had said he was last time she checked.

Was this an error? Had his information been inputted incorrectly into the system and was now different? She tried thinking back over things Harry had said, wondering if he'd ever mentioned his age. She couldn't think of any time he had, or if he'd ever told them when his birthday was.

She thought about what his age changing meant. Was it a simple clerical error that had now been fixed, or was there something more to it? Being such a mystery as he was, Chloe wasn't sure the changed information was a clerical error.

When he had first come to Smallville he had talked about Newspaper articles about him. She'd never found any. The only articles she could pin on him were those about his Aunt and Uncle and those about his Godfather. Even those articles didn't make sense. Sure, the Aunt and Uncle thing was fine enough, but his Godfather had been arrested and thrown in prison. She had search for records of the man's trial, the prison that he had been sentence too, but there was nothing. From what she could tell, a man that didn't exist had broken out of a prison that no one knew of. Added to the fact that the record of the 'attack' that had occurred around the time Black was arrested, was attributed to a gas leak.

She brought up the information on Black once again. First, through legal means. She brought up the BBC's news website. Searching for Black, she found the article that talked about his breakout. She read it carefully. Twice. The information was different. It made mention of a trial, which prison he escaped from and a lot more information than it had before. Someone had _edited_ the BBC's website and _no one_ had noticed.

She spent the next several hours reinvestigating everything she had pulled up about Harry. Information that had never existed was now available for her to find. A wedding announcement for his parents, details of his father's family that had never existed before, several small newspaper articles that mentioned Harry himself, including photographs and quotes from him.

She took stock of what this new information meant. It didn't just mean that someone had edited the BBC's website without notice, but someone had edited well known internet websites, apparently without notice or difficulty.

All the loose ends she had found in Harry's background now appeared closed. His history had been spotty before, it was now, as far as she could tell, spotless

What was going on? Who had the power to do this?

With each bit of information she found on Harry, more questions were added to an already impressive list.

She knew he had money, quite a bit of it, but he'd never said more than that. What she did know was that he'd bought Lana's old house, likely the second most expensive home in Smallville, next to the Luthor Mansion, without ever seeing it and that Smallville had seen quite a few donations from Marauder Industries in the times since Harry had first arrived.

He also frequently avoided talk about what University he wanted to attend after Graduation, or even if he planned to go. Every time he was asked what he was going to do and where he wanted to go he would just shrug and say it was handled. Every time it was brought up, he pushed it aside, his tone of voice clearly indicating that the conversation was over.

That seemed strange to her. Harry was clearly one of the smartest people in their year, racing through his work as though he'd already completed it in another life and was able to vividly remember each detail.

She thought of confronting him with what she knew and what she suspected, but she had the feeling that she would get nothing out of him. She couldn't trust the information she was finding online, and she knew how careful Harry was with information regarding his past.

What she _did _know was that she was going to find out everything else, soon.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**THE BOY-WHO-LIVED-NO-MORE**

_Harry Potter, The Boy-who-lived, found dead in American town_

_**By Sean Keith**_

_Harry Potter (The Boy-who-lived, the Chosen One, The Saviour, The Banished One) was found brutally murdered in Santa Barbara, CA, late yesterday afternoon._

_Eye witness accounts, as well as pensive memories, show that the assailants were clad in Death Eater garb and spoke with an English accent. This reporter was lucky enough to shown a penseive memory from a muggle who saw the entire event. After being cornered and surprised by the three masked men, a brutal fight followed._

_Harry Potter fought bravely, using a combination of power charms and transfiguration, including a magnificent spell in which he created three spectacular animals to attack his individual opponents._

_Sadly, he was overcome. A powerful Sunlight charm from the three casters blinded Potter before he was hit by three killing curses. The aurors, arriving moments too late were unable to apprehend the three men responsible. The identities of the three men are unknown and aurors are asking that anyone with information please step forward._

_Harry Potter, famous for vanquishing Great Britain's Dark Lord Voldemort during the early 80's and surviving the infamous 'Avada Kedavra' curse at 15 months old, lived a highly publicized life, until the well known banishment from his home country by Ex-Minister Rufus Scrimgeour._

_Details of his life after he was forced from his home are sparse. After interviewing several residents in the Santa Barbara community we know that he kept to himself, rarely interacting with those in his community._

_Questions are already being asked about what will happen to what is being called 'The Pure Blood Fortune', the 60 billion dollar fortune Potter left Britain with. No word on a will or next of kin has been released._

_The world will mourn the loss of Harry Potter, a man who sacrificed everything he had so that others could live in peace._

_The History and Deeds of Harry Potter – Pages 2, 3, & 4_

_The Banishment of a Hero - Pages 5 & 6_

_Details on The Pure Blood Fortune – Page 7_

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Jenny O'Neil)_

Jennifer O'Neil, Jenny to her friends, walked into Marauder Tower with a smile on her face, just as she did every morning. Her semi-expensive shoes clicked on the polished wooden floor of the Reception area as she strode across the room, a coffee in her hand. She stopped briefly at the Reception desk, saying good morning to the people she had worked with before her highly unexpected promotion. She moved on after a few minutes, after receiving the latest update on the gossip of the building.

There had been some jealousy from the women she had worked with due to her promotion, but that hadn't lasted long. Beyond an incident where one woman a few years her senior, Amanda Graves, had, loudly, called her a '_gold digging whore_' whilst she was in the presence of Harry without his 'Mr. Black' glamour, everyone had been quite supportive.

Amanda hadn't lasted long in the company after that.

Jenny stepped into an open elevator that held several people. She reached over and pushed the button for the fortieth floor with a smile. Even though she'd been doing this job for a little over four months now, pressing the button for the top floor, knowing _her_ office was there, still gave her a small thrill. She had a _real_ office on the _top _floor of one of the fastest growing companies in the world. It was very exciting.

As she did nearly every morning, she silently thanked Harry for the opportunity he had given her to prove herself. Five months ago she'd been struggling to get by, supporting herself and her teenage sister Rachel on a receptionists salary, living in a tiny one bedroom apartment, with only seven sets on clothes, one for each day of the week. The money that wasn't spent on food and bills was put away for her sister, for when she wanted to go University after graduation from Metropolis High. It had reached a point where the only way her sister would get a higher education was if Rachel won a scholarship. Jenny, despite having won a scholarship of her own, had been forced to refuse it to take care of her sister.

Despite having been raised in a fairly normal environment, they were from a very odd family. Their mother and father had been a witch and a wizard, something that hadn't been passed on to their girls. When it was discovered that she held no magic, her mother hadn't cared in the slightest. She had said that her girls would _always _be her girls, and nothing would ever change that. Her father on the other hand, well, he'd been different.

Whilst their mother hadn't really noticed, Jenny and her sister had noticed how their father changed after he discovered that she'd never attend a magic school and never use a wand. When he was told that she had no magic, her father had become cold to her, focusing his fatherly attention on Rachel, the younger sister. When it was revealed that Rachel had no magic either, he was suddenly too busy for them.

Whilst blood purity wasn't a strong cause outside of Europe, magic itself was. It was believed by most that if a magical family had children that didn't have magic, they had been cursed by God as unworthy. Their father was a strong believer of that.

Shortly before Jenny was to graduate from Met. High, several shocking events had turned hers and her sister's life around. Their mother had been murdered by a Purist, those who believed they were carrying on Gods work by striking down those who were unworthy or unclean. Three men had attacked their home, killing their mother before she had a chance to defend herself. The men had then searched their home for the magicless girls, only to be killed by their enraged father after he had found the body of his wife.

The funeral had barely passed when they were told to leave home and never come back. Jenny knew that their father blamed them for their mothers death, and, having barely put up with them for years, kicked them out the moment he could.

Thanks to a small amount of money their mother had given them in her will, they moved to the nearest large city and were able rent the cheapest apartment they could outside of Suicide Slums. Jenny had enrolled Rachel in Met. High and looked around for a job. It hadn't taken her long to find one. The second interview she'd been given was for a reception job at Global Labs, a large pharmaceutical company, not that far away from where her apartment was.

Jenny had known she wasn't as qualified as others also applying for the job, but the woman interviewing her could hear the desperation in her voice when she talked, and after hearing _why_ she needed this job, she'd pretty much been guaranteed the it on the spot. With her working here full time at Global Labs, and Rachel having a weekend job, they were able to get by.

She had worked there for nearly four years when the company started getting into financial trouble. LuthorCorp was under-cutting Global at every opportunity and the company was starting to lay people off. They were clearly in trouble and Jenny was terrified that she was going to be '_let go_.'

That was when Marauder Industries began their take over. There had been no news, nor warning, that anything was happening and then, the next day she'd gone into work and had been told that they were working for a new company. The renovations to the Global Labs Tower began immediately and no longer did she fear for her job. With the extensive amount of work that was being done to the building, as well as the fact that most of the laboratories were being moved to nearby individual sites, they obviously had a lot of money and were looking to expand.

Quickly.

The next few months at the company were quite bizarre. New people were brought in each day and major companies were being bought left right and centre. It had been incredible exciting to be in the eye of the storm, watching everything come about and change.

Jenny wasn't one to brag, but she knew she was smart. She had a near eidetic memory and was especially good at remembering faces. So, when a young man walked into the building, wearing a suit that she knew cost more than the rent of her apartment for a year, looking around the reception with an incredibly curious look on his face, she was intrigued.

He'd stopped by the reception desk, smiled charmingly and called her by her name. Having never met the man before, and not having her name displayed, she had been quite surprised. She'd gotten his name, and after realising who he was, told him what he needed to know. They'd talked for a little while as he waited for Mr. Griffis to meet him and they'd bantered back and forth. He made several comments about mind reading that set her on edge slightly.

Unlike most people, she knew things like mind reading _did_ exist, and from the look in Mr. Black's eyes as he spoke, he knew about it as well. From what she gathered from Mr. Black's words, Mr. Griffis also knew about magic. As soon as she'd thought of that she remembered something from back in the days when her mother had been alive. She remembered her father ranting frequently about 'that damn Griffis'. Griffis had been a rival of her fathers, arguing against the prosecution of people due to religious beliefs. Ezekiel Griffis was too young to have been the person her father hated, so logic dictated that it was her boss's father. That meant that her boss and likely several others high in the company were wizards and knew about magic. That had been an odd realization and she hadn't quite known what to think.

She hadn't seen much of Mr. Black after that. But soon, almost every day of the week this same guy, around her age, came into Marauder Tower, dressed as casually as you'd please, enter the elevator, proceed down, and then exit an almost an hour later looking exhausted. It quickly became a pattern and nobody on staff had any idea of who he was or what he did. She was extremely curious about him when they'd first spoken.

He'd exited the elevator like he usually did, having recently showered and looking a little dazed. It had been a quiet time in the morning with only a few people around, so she asked him if he was alright. He'd waved off her concern, merely putting his dizzy spell down to a cold or the flu. She hadn't bought it for a second. Wanting to know more about this guy, she fetched him a cup of water and told him to just rest for a moment.

She came back and then they started talking. He revealed little about himself other than he lived in the area. She had talked with him for twenty minutes before her immediate boss came by and reprimanded her for wasting company time. Her new friend Harry had apologised for getting into trouble and left.

And so, every time Harry came in to do whatever it was he did in the building, he stopped by and they talked for a little while, usually until her boss got frustrated with her. She had known she was pushing things a bit with her conversations with Harry whilst 'on the job', but she couldn't help but find him interesting. Whilst he wasn't her type, he had charm and enough mystery to keep her curious. There was just _something_ about him.

Her life changed for the better one February morning. Two of her friends from reception were off sick with a cold and she had been in the canteen for a late lunch when she'd finally been allowed to take a break. Having such a close relationship with her sister, Jenny very rarely ate alone and it wasn't something she enjoyed. There were only a few people in the canteen, but she recognised Mr. Black and asked to sit with him. He was frowning harshly at the work in front of him and seemed pleased to have been given a distraction from it.

They'd talked for a minute and then he'd sworn to Merlin. She only knew of one person who did that and it quickly confirmed the suspicions she had about the upper levels of management. She uncovered that Mr. Black had gone to Hogwarts and was familiar with her cousin, Katie Bell.

Actually, from the look of disbelief on his face when she mentioned her cousin, Mr. Black knew her quite well. His reaction had been odd and she made a mental note to ask her cousin in the next letter see sent out to her.

They'd talked for only a few minutes longer and then, out of the blue, he'd offered her a job where she'd be earning _six figures_ a year. Her mind had gone blank for a second. She'd spoken to this man _twice_ and had been offered such a job. She was stunned to say the least. Her initial instinct was to turn the job down; she was nowhere _near _qualified for a job that paid 100k a year and there _had_ to be a catch. Her thoughts had then shifted to her sister. All she wanted was the best for her Rachel and to give her the life she deserved; six figures a year could do that; would do that.

Tentatively she'd asked to talk with her sister first before saying anymore. Mr. Black had given her permission to leave. She was walking to the front door, thinking how to explain to her boss that she needed to take off for a while when her boss told her she already knew. Well, that had been one problem solved.

Jenny shook herself out of her thoughts as the elevator door opened. She quickly checked her reflection in the walls of the elevator and smoothed out her blouse. This floor was where the most important people in the company worked and ran things and she always made sure she looked her best. Even after four months of working on the 40th floor, she was still self-conscious about her place here. She imagined things would get a bit better when Harry started to actually _work_ here. He had a quiet confidence that always made her feel welcome and as though she was in the right place.

She nodded politely to the people she walked past and made small talk with a few of them. Most of the _Upper Level _staff didn't think much of her. She had nothing more than a High School degree and felt as though she didn't belong here. She always smiled at the thought of them meeting Harry for the first time. If they didn't like her...

She entered her office, shrugged off her coat and hung it up on the coat rack beside her desk and placed her coffee beside her keyboard. Booting up her computer she looked around her office. The oil painting that had been behind her desk the day she started was now a framed poster that she'd brought from home. The demotivational poster titled _'Priorities' _been a gift from her sister last Christmas that she felt was appropriate for her new life, as a reminder not to change as a person.

She'd been unsure of how suitable it would be, hanging it up in plain view of her office. Harry had just laughed when she'd showed him and he'd read what it said. He'd bought her the frame and told her to display it proudly. Last she'd heard, Harry had tried to get Mr. Griffis to decorate the upper level with similar posters. Whilst she doubted Mr. Griffis would agree, it was an amusing mental picture.

With her computer booted up she logged into her emails, checking and replying to what needed done, setting aside information that Harry would need to know and the stuff he would need to sign off on. With so few people really knowing who Harry was and with Mr. Black doing so little in the company, it didn't take long and she was finished with that job within two hours.

She ran through her self-created list of tasks to do today. Again, due to Harry having so little to do with the company, she didn't have that much actual work to do. Her days were usually filled with helping Michelle, Mr. Griffis' secretary and learning from her, or reading up on the University work she was now doing. With the money she was now making, taking night classes wasn't a problem. As such, she'd missed the first semester but Harry had pulled some strings and made a couple of donations on her behalf. He had known how little she would have to do at this point and fully supported her decision to continue her education in her down time.

Having decided on what she needed to get done today she took a key from deep inside her desk drawer moved over the filing cabinets at the left side of her office and ducked down. Placing the key in the bottom right draw of the filing cabinet she twisted it in a full circle and the drawer unlocked. She opened the draw that was full of newspapers.

She picked up the stack and moved them back to her desk. Since she'd started this job and Harry had found out about her connection to Britain, he'd decided he wanted a bit more information as to what was happening in the magic world. It had taken a bit of work on her part, but now the bottom right draw of her filing cabinets was a drop box for newspapers from Wizarding publications all across the world. She rarely found anything there worth mentioning to Harry.

She flipped through several unimportant local papers before one headline almost stopped her heart.

**THE BOY-WHO-LIVED-NO-MORE**

_Harry Potter, The Boy-who-lived, found dead in American town_

Her eyes widened in shock and panic. She scanned the page quickly, taking in only the important information. Names, dates, locations shot out her as her heart rate increased. In her haste to read the information she missed a vital piece. She dropped the paper and leaned back in her leather chair. "Oh, God," she whispered to herself in disbelief, speaking the Lords name for the first time in years.

Taking a deep breath she looked at the front page again. The headline covered almost half the front page, the other half taken up the banner headline. From looking at the front page, there was no hint that paper held any other news. The entire front page was dedicated to this story.

The picture was horrifying. She'd heard on the morning radio news about a terrorist attack in California, but seeing pictures of it, in full colour and animated was heart rendering, knowing who had died there...

The picture showed several aurors walking around the scene, talking with each other. The background showed how much damage had been done to the street. Craters covered the street and water sprayed high into the air from multiple sources.

Harry Evans, otherwise known as Harry Potter, had died yesterday afternoon. She couldn't believe it.

Wait.

She picked up the paper again and slowly, precisely, read it again.

"Yesterday afternoon?" Jenny quietly asked herself, sitting straight and reading through the information again. Yes, it was definitely yesterday afternoon, so then why had she seen him last night when leaving her office?

What was going on?

She pushed the newspaper aside and picked up another with a similar front page. The information was almost the same, telling the same story about British terrorists attacking Great Britain's saviour and killing him in broad daylight. She pushed the second newspaper aside and quickly flicked through the others. They all told the same story. What was going on?

She knew for a fact she had seen Harry last night. She had stayed late, just reading through more of the day's updates. She had read through the latest monthly update from Prometheus Labs and lost track of time. Rachel was staying at a friends and she had no reason to go back to their flat. As she'd left her office she'd heard Harry talking with Mr. Griffis. She'd gone to say goodnight to them but they'd entered Mr. Griffis' office before she had a chance.

What was she missing here?

Being the Executive Secretary of the company's owner, Jenny had full access to all the information regarding the company and its assets, including the information that would likely never be made public, like some of the more illegal ventures Prometheus Labs was undertaking.

Had Harry faked his own death?

Last year Harry _had_ asked her for multiple books on the Blackest Magic known. Had he used dark magic to create... something... to fake his death? No, she didn't want to think he was capable of that. Yes, so she _knew_ he was capable of horrible acts, but in each of those situations he'd had no other choice; he had been saving lives. This didn't seem right.

Jenny sighed. She needed to speak to Harry about this. She turned to her computer, pushing a few newspapers off the keyboard, and brought up Harry's calendar. As she remembered, he had meeting with Mr. Griffis in, she checked her watch, twenty minutes. She'd find out then.

She sat back with her eyes closed, running through different scenarios of _how_ this happened. She had to be missing something.

A knock at her door startled her, pulling her from her thoughts. Before she could invite whoever had knocked on her door in, the door opened and Harry walked in with a smile on his face. "Morning Jen....ny..." Harry said in greeting, trailing off as he looked around her office curiously. She didn't even register the mess of newspapers that covered her office. "What's wrong?" Harry asked, walking further into her office and closing the door behind him.

She watched him carefully. Whilst she could usually get a good read off people, Harry always threw her off somehow. Maybe it was because she saw him as three people; Mr Black, Harry Evans and Harry Potter, or maybe it was just a natural ability of the man a year younger than she was.

"Interesting day yesterday?" she asked, surprising herself by the level of venom in her voice. It hurt that he hadn't trusted her with whatever scheme he'd pulled. Her tone of voice clearly surprised Harry as well.

"Um... what?" Harry asked, confused and a little surprised. It was the first time she'd ever really seen him flustered. He usually walked around with an aura of confidence and control, never surprised and never startled. It seemed odd.

"Interesting day?" she asked again, pushing a newspaper across the desk towards him. He glanced down at and stepped forward to take a look. He read the clearly visible headline and glanced back up at her. His eyes seemed to glow marginally as he surveyed her, something she had only seen a couple of times. His eyes widened and, for the first time since meeting him, he looked scared.

"You know," he said. It wasn't a question. He closed his eyes and inhaled slowly before breathing out. His body visibly relaxed before her. She recognised the Occlumency technique for calming oneself; she'd seen her father use the same method a lot after she was shown to have no magic.

When Harry opened his eyes, she never would have guessed he'd been so nervous moments before. With an almost dismissive gesture he conjured a leather chair before him and sat down. No matter how often he did magic like that, it never ceased to amaze her. Her father...

Jenny shook her head, pushing away thoughts that didn't focus on now.

"How?" Harry asked. If it wasn't for a slight tightness in his voice, she never would have guessed his question was anything more than idle curiosity.

"It wasn't really difficult," Jenny told him carefully. He winced slightly. "It wouldn't be for anyone else," she quickly added. "I was just close enough to the situation that I worked it out."

He frowned slightly and broke eye contact, looking down at the desk in front of him. She could see that he was trying to work out what might have tipped her off. She waited to see what he came up with; after all, there had been a few things that had tipped her off. He looked up and raised an eyebrow. "Katie," Harry said, clearly having settled on what he thought gave him away. "I made the mistake of telling you I was in the year below her."

She smiled slightly at him and let him continue. "There were... nineteen boys in my year and I was the only one called Harry. If you'd been talking with Katie for years you might know that, but making the connection between me and Harry Potter wouldn't have been a far stretch." He ran a hand through his messy hair and sighed. "There's probably more than that, but that's what I've got." He looked at her curiously and waited.

"That was the start of it," she told him, "but I wasn't sure until you asked for the Malfoy family tree and the Dark Arts books."

He winced again and she could see that he hadn't even considered that. She clearly remembered the phone call where Harry had told her that he'd inherited everything from the Malfoy family. Whilst she kept barely in touch with the magic world, even she knew about the Pure Blood Fortune that Harry Potter had supposedly vanished with. She was pretty sure that everyone in the magic world knew that Harry Potter had vanished with 60 billion dollars. It was also well known that he'd made off with the majority of items that he couldn't sell either; items that were priceless to the families they had belonged to, but worth nothing to Harry himself, or the items that were too dangerous to leave in the hands of those that would abuse them.

When Harry had casually mentioned that he had a priceless artefact from the Malfoy family, her earlier suspicion about who Harry was, was confirmed. She had managed to compose herself and tell him that she'd look into it. A short conversation with Michelle got her the directions to the warehouse that, officially, stored supplies for the company. She had been granted access to the private section of the warehouse, a place that had to have been behind hundreds of protection wards and she was given a glimpse at everything Harry had 'inherited'. She'd almost been speechless for days because of the sight. Thousands of books and thousands of artefacts had been stored in that warehouse; hundreds of millions of dollars worth to the right person.

She had been escorted to the 'Malfoy' section of the warehouse and as someone had spent a good deal of time organising everything, she quickly found the Malfoy Family Tree amongst the mountain of Malfoy family items.

When she got back to her office she considered calling Harry and letting him know that she knew who he was now. She had picked up the phone and was moments away from dialling him when she placed it back down. Harry didn't _want_ her to know, and whilst she wouldn't betray him, especially not after he took a huge chance with her in giving her this job, she would wait until he came to _her_ and told her.

Well, that had been the plan anyway. She hadn't quite factored in him faking his death.

"You saw The Warehouse? Where all that crap I got during the war was?" he asked, sighing in resignation.

Jenny smiled slightly, "I saw enough of it to know that what's stored in there isn't crap, but the storage area was all the proof I needed."

Harry sat silent for a moment, staring into her eyes. "You haven't told anyone, have you?" Harry asked. She could hear the _slightest_ hint of nervousness behind his voice.

"No," Jenny told him without hesitation. "As far I was concerned, you're identity was part of the Secrets Contract I signed when I took this job."

He sighed again, running a hand across his face in a tired motion. "It's not," he told her. "Not really. I tried to have it written in but Zeke advised me against that." He paused and smiled slightly sheepish. "Not that I can remember why." She smiled back, glad to see he seemed to be doing better with this now. "So what do you think then?" he asked.

"I've known about it for months Harry, I'm okay with it now. What I _do _want to know is what _this _is about," she told him, jabbing at the newspaper that lay on her desk.

"In my defence," Harry said. "I didn't know about it until two days ago."

"You didn't know you were going to fake your death? You just decided like it seemed to be a good idea and arranged in a day?" she asked, not believing him.

"Zeke decided for me," Harry told her, and she could hear a small amount of anger leaking into his words.

"Mr. Griffis did this?" Jenny asked in surprise.

Harry nodded, "Zeke's under a few different magically sealed Contracts than everyone else. One of them states that he is to, without betraying or harming me, to protect the company. He saw to arrange this and has been working on it since last year."

"So you _didn't _know about this until two days ago," Jenny stated.

Harry nodded. "He let me know when the final preparations were being set up. They needed my input for that, but not for anything else."

Jenny frowned, "Didn't not telling you about it count as a betrayal in the Contract he signed?" Jenny asked.

Harry shrugged, "If he hadn't told me and then finished Evanidus without me knowing, it's possible."

"Evanidus?" Jenny asked. "That's was the project name?" Harry nodded. "I heard that mentioned a few times when I was being trained by Michelle. I thought it had something to do with you, because of the name obviously, but I realised it was Latin for 'vanishing' or 'disappearing'. I thought it was talking about wards or protection spells, like you have at the storage area."

"'The Warehouse'," Harry corrected. "It's called The Warehouse."

Jenny blinked a few times. Her lip quirked upwards slightly, "Well, I guess the name is fitting, if a little unimaginative."

Harry grinned self-deprecating, "I like naming these things myself."

Jenny laughed quietly, "After being given the mantle of '_The Boy-who-lived_', that doesn't surprise me."

Harry grinned back, "I'll take my wins where I can get them."

She snorted, a bad habit she'd picked up from Rachel. Realising that they'd gotten off track, she changed the subject back to what it was. "So what happened with Evanidus then?" she asked.

Harry went on to explain how the details of his life were being changed, how he'd technically be 21 during the summer, how Zeke had erased the identity he'd had created when he moved to America, how a fake body was created and people were hired to 'kill' him. Jenny was quite amazed through the whole story.

"So," Harry said, after falling silent for a minute. "What does the rest of the world think of this?" He glanced down at the scattered newspapers curiously.

"There's no doubt that this was real," Jenny told him, slipping into 'business mode'. She picked through the most interesting front pages. "Everyone is mourning your death," she told him with a roll of her eyes. "They're talking about all the incredible things you did during your life, conveniently forgetting to mention you 'Dark Lord Status' that was initially assigned by the press." Harry smiled wryly. "They, and by 'they' I mean _all _of them, go on to talk about the 'Pure Blood Fortune' that's now without an heir." She looked up at him, "A lot of people are going to be looking for that."

Harry nodded, already knowing this. "Zeke has plans set up to try deal with that. He's taken a few artefacts from The Warehouse and hidden him across the world. They've been hidden so well that if anyone finds them they won't doubt the authenticity. He gave me a quick over-view of what he's calling 'The Treasure Hunt' and, basically, it'll lead everyone as far away from me as possible."

Jenny 'hmmm'd' thoughtfully. "So he's covered his bases then?"

"He's tried," Harry told her. "I'm smart enough to know that this won't last forever, that someone will eventually find me." He sighed and she could see how the thought of how _that _happening disturbed him. "But," he continued. "Zeke has done the best he can to delay that, so whilst I'm not happy that he planned all this out without telling me, I can't deny that I owe him one."

"Well, hopefully he won't try again," Jenny told him guardedly. Harry had risked a lot to help her, and she was going to do what she could to repay him. She had dismissed what 'Evanidus' truly was when she'd overheard Mr. Griffis talking about. Not anymore. Whilst she knew a lot about the projects this company was running, it's partnerships with others, including the 'top secret' work, she would make more of an effort to pick up _everything_ she overheard.

"So," Jenny eventually said. "What was the duel like?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Neville Longbottom)_

Neville Longbottom, Gryffindor, War veteran and Hero and now, Herbology Professor of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, sat at the Head-table of school he'd spent half his life in, looking over the students that were eating breakfast in the Great Hall. His face, no longer chubby, was weathered and scarred, his short brown hair showing signs of receding.

His eyes brown eyes, showing the horrors he had seen, drifted to the first years. They looked so innocent, so unscathed an undamaged. They had been in school for less than a week before the war ended. They hadn't seen things they shouldn't have; they hadn't had to fight students, kids, for their right to survive. They had simply arrived at the victory party.

He snorted; Victory party? As far as he was concerned, there was no victory. No one _won_ the war, they had only lost slightly less than the bad guys.

As he watched two first year boys at the Gryffindor table laughing, talking in lively tones about what today might bring, Neville wondered if he'd ever been truly innocent like these kids.

He honestly couldn't remember anymore. It was difficult thinking back to those days without remembering all those who _hadn't _survived this war.

And there were so _very_ many of those people.

He sighed, stabbing a sausage on his plate with his fork, the force cutting it cleanly in half. He stabbed one of the half pieces of sausage and brought it up to his mouth.

As he chewed he thought about his lesson plan for the day. He had some really interesting things to show the 6th years and the class was fairly small, so that would be good. Other than that, he only had the second years to teach. They were a fairly lively bunch and would definitely need to be watched carefully.

He smiled. He really did enjoy his job.

Soon after the war finished and the Goblin Rebellion calmed down, he'd been offered the job as Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher. He'd turned it down immediately. It wasn't because the job was cursed, or that he didn't think he could teach the subject; he just didn't want to have to keep fighting. Herbology had always been his passion, and, whilst he was now extremely adept at Defensive and Offensive magic, he was a better herbologist. He actually enjoyed the subject.

During the war he'd been forced to adapt. The once weak and timid boy had been forced to change. He had to protect himself, his family and his friends. It would have done no good to curl up in a corner and try to forget the world. His friends were fighting on the front lines of battle and he would be damned if he wasn't going to stand beside them.

He had done so, and, for the most part, succeeded. He'd made a name for himself, fighting beside Harry Potter. Whenever Harry went into battle, Neville made sure he was nearby. Everyone in Britain had known the Trelawney Prophecy that talked about how Harry had the power to defeated Voldemort. What most didn't know was how close Neville had been to being made the centre piece of that prophecy. He knew, without a doubt, that _if_ he had been chosen by Voldemort on that fateful October night that Harry would have stood by him unflinchingly. He made sure to do the same.

His thoughts were distracted as the Enchanted Ceiling flickered for a moment, temporarily revealing the real stone roof that covered them. It had been doing that for almost a year now, ever since the moment that Harry had crashed through the ceiling _and_ through the wards in a brilliant blinding flash. No one had been able to fix the ceiling. The enchantments that showed the sky outside were too old and complicated. Flitwick had tried of course, but all he had managed to do was stabilise the illusion slightly more than it had been. It now flickered less, but it still wasn't right.

Neville had always loved the Great Hall ceiling, but now it was an unwelcome reminder of the war. Instead of seeing a blue sky, littered with clouds, he now saw failure, both for Harry and for everyone else that had died. He almost smiled at the symbolism. A thousand years of tradition, history and beauty, flickering in and out, ready to fail and dissolve at any moment.

The damaged ceiling was the perfect representation of their world and it was almost fitting that they couldn't fix it. Neville felt as though this world needed a constant reminder of how close they'd come to oblivion. Even now, things were slowly starting to back to their old ways. The Slytherin's bullied the other Houses and the Gryffindor's responded in over the top ways. Neville wondered how long it would be before another Dark Lord rose again. Despite the marked Death Eaters dying, he had a feeling in his gut that it wouldn't too long.

Again, he wondered if Harry _had_ made the smart move vanishing from the face of the Earth.

It hadn't been something he'd supported initially, hell, it wasn't something he supported _now_, but he knew, at the time, there had been very little choice. Harry could have either run or taken on the Ministry, and if he did that, how did that make him all that different from Voldemort?

Despite not fully supporting it, Neville had helped Harry, helping him to clear out large portions of his numerous vaults. It had been a process that had taken months. Eventually, all that was really left in Gringotts was money.

Harry had eventually taken that as well.

When he'd fled.

This world still needed Harry Potter. With him absent, there had been no figurehead for people to flock to. Instead they had divided, splitting into separate groups behind those they thought could help them. If Harry had been here, everyone would have organised behind a central figure. Now, it was pretty much organised chaos.

He was brought out his morbid thoughts as someone sat next to him. "Keep scowling like that Longbottom and people are going to start mistaking you for Snape," Blaise Zabini muttered as he pulled some food onto his plate. "We wouldn't want that, would we?"

Neville just rolled his eyes at Zabini's comment. "With my knack for potions, I doubt that will ever happen." He glanced over at one of the closest people he had to a friend on the teaching staff and raised an eyebrow, "Thanks for the concern though."

Zabini smirked at the sarcasm and focused on his breakfast. Blaise had been something of a surprise. As a Slytherin in the same year as that bastard Draco Malfoy, he and the rest of the Gryffindors had naturally bunched the pair of them together in the 'enemies' section. All they'd really known about Blaise was that he was quiet, studious with an arrogance that was overshadowed by Malfoy, and that his mother was likely a gold-digging sociopath with numerous murders under her belt.

It had been quite a surprise when, halfway through their 6th year, Blaise had approached Harry during a meal in the Great Hall, publically _asking_ to be part of Harry's defensive club, the DA. Neville clearly remembered the arguments that followed after that. Ron and immediately accused Blaise of being a spy for Voldemort, Hermione had then gotten into a argument with her temperamental friend about how Slytherin's weren't 'so bad', whilst the people in the Great Hal watched Harry, having no idea what he'd do. Harry had been quiet and focused this year, and that through a lot of people off.

As his friends argued Harry had simply stared at Blaise for a long minute, pulled the enchanted DA contract from his bag, pushed it to Blaise and handed him a Quill. Without hesitation Blaise had signed the contract, pushed it back to Harry, nodded once and walked out of the great hall. Neville still fondly remembered the looks on both Ron and Hermione's faces as they realised what they missed.

That night Harry had sent the DA on a recon mission to keep an eye on Blaise. Most had thought that this spying mission was to see if Blaise was trying to cheat them. It wasn't until a group of six Slytherin's tried killing Blaise just outside their common room in the dungeons that the stealth group realised they'd been sent to _protect_ Blaise. The following fight had started two things; the split in Slytherin politics and after deliberately cutting off Draco Malfoy's right hand, Harry's start to using lethal spells in battle.

The six perpetrators of the fight were expelled, and some Slytherin's realised that someone, beside their own housemates, had their back. Neville still equated that day as one of the defining parts of the war; the day the Good/Evil lines in the Serpent House blurred.

Blaise, now the Potions master at Hogwarts, had become somewhat friends with he and Harry after that day, and they worked together, trying to sway the Slytherin's away from Voldemort's teachings. He wouldn't necessarily call Blaise a friend, but acquaintance seemed an appropriate term.

The seat to his left was pulled out, scraping along the stone floor. Neville didn't need to turn to know who it was. "Morning Ginny," he greeted, turning to face her, smiling slightly.

"Good morning Neville," she said as she sat. She glanced between Neville and Blaise. "You boys weren't fighting again, were you?" she asked with a small smile.

"Longbottom was glaring at the ceiling again," Blaise muttered after swallowing a mouthful of food, the slightest of smirks on her face.

Neville rolled his eyes, "I was just thinking, not glaring." He turned to fully face Ginny. Whilst he was a completely different person than he'd been during the early days of his school years, Ginny was drastically different. In regards to who lost more friends and family during the war, the Ginny was only slightly behind Harry. She had lost two brothers, two best friends, several very close friends and her mother. She'd been hit incredibly hard by each one and it had taken her a long time to come to grips with it.

Her hair, once long and vivid red, was now cut short, hanging above her shoulders. The colour of her hair had also darkened, making it look black under poor light. She claimed that it wasn't something she had done herself, but just something that had happened. Neville supposed he couldn't argue with that. Harry was beginning to go gray and his hair was falling out, maybe something similar had happened to her hair.

Her eyes, once vibrant and joyous, held little of the fire they once did. Thankfully, she had been able to pull herself together, but there were random moments were she would burst into tears for no discernable reason. She was his best friend and he was hers. They were the only two members of the Ministry Six, those who had revealed Voldemort and the Death Eaters, still left.

Harry had fled. He didn't count.

"How are the repairs going with the ceiling?" he asked her as she started eating.

"Same as last week," Ginny told him, her mouth full of toast.

"That well?" Blaise remarked with an amused look. The mystery of the damaged ceiling had quickly become legend at Hogwarts. Very few people _knew_ how Harry had appeared in the Great Hall, or what he'd done to fix the ceiling, but the rumours about it were numerous and apparently infinite. Everyone wanted to know what really happened and everyone wanted the ceiling fixed.

"Maybe you could make a potion to fix it?" Ginny sarcastically remarked.

"Might have better luck than you lot throwing charms at the ceiling," Blaise shot back. Ginny scowled at him.

Ginny, rather adapt at charms was working alongside several charms experts in an effort to repair the damage done to the ceiling. People had been, and still were, rather put off that it didn't work. Neville could honestly say he didn't really care, but who was he to tell these _experts_ to focus on something else, like rebuilding and fixing their screwed up society?

The ceiling flickered again as a parliament of post owls soared into the room. He followed the owls for a moment, watching as they landed by the owners. Almost immediately he realised something was wrong. There was a momentary palpable silence, almost as though someone had cast a silencing charm over the entire room. Then it was as though the charm was removed. There were startled gasps from the students, instant talk breaking out. A few people, the older students especially, burst into tears. People began shouting, a few people screamed and a fist fight had broken out at the Slytherin table. The Headmaster did nothing to stop this small riot.

He eyes quickly glanced around the room, trying to discern what had happened. "Ginny, Blaise, what happened?" Neville asked in a quick whisper, not taking his eyes of the spectacle in front of him. Hearing no reply he glanced to his left. His question died in his throat as he caught the look on Ginny's face.

Complete horror and utter devastation. It was then that he noticed the Daily Prophet lying in front of her. A quick glance at the front page of the _Prophet _showed exactly why the hall was in chaos. The headline was blunt, simple and more devastating than any fancy wordsmanship could accomplish.

**Harry Potter, Murdered**

He stared at the headline for a long moment before his eyes drifted to the full colour photograph underneath. The picture underneath was clearly of Harry and he was _very clearly_ dead. A second glance at Ginny showed that she was staring unblinkingly at the photo. "Ginny," Neville said softly. She didn't respond. He gently placed a hand on her shoulder, startling her. She quickly turned towards him, fear in her eyes. "Ginny..." He didn't know what to say. What was there to say?

"He... he's d-dead Neville," Ginny muttered, tears pooling in her eyes. "He's dead." She sobbed once and then clung to Neville, her tears now flowing fully. Neville rubbed her back, whisper soothing words to her that she likely didn't hear.

Neville barely listened at the Headmaster made a speech to the school, mentioning something about 'great loss' before cancelling classes for the day. It would do no good trying to teach students today.

"Come on Ginny," Neville muttered. "I'll take you back to your quarters." She nodded mutely. Neville helped her stand, gently walking her out of the Great Hall. He made sure to grab the newspaper on his way out.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Neville eventually managed to get Ginny to drink a dreamless sleep potion, promising that he would be by her side when she woke up. Giving her the potion was a bit of a risk, but Neville rationalised that _this _was a special occasion. As long as she didn't keep taking them, _again_, she'd be alright.

Neville glanced at her sleeping body and shook his head. It was so unfair that another tragedy had hit them. Despite their arguments and disagreements, Harry was his best friend and Ginny... well, she'd been in love with Harry for years. It was just so damn unfair.

Now that he finally had a moment to himself, he uncurled the _Daily Prophet_. He stared at the headline and the photograph again before turning to page 4 to read the story of what had happened. He took a deep breath and began to read.

He read the article once and blinked in confusion.

He read it a second time and frowned.

He read it once more. "This is wrong," he muttered to himself. Had anyone overhead him, they would have thought he was talking about how unfair life was, how Harry shouldn't have died.

Neville wasn't.

He knew Harry better than anyone else alive. He was the only one that knew that the spell that Harry had killed Voldemort with wasn't a spell. He knew that when Harry shattered the wards at Diagon Alley, he hadn't used an enchanted object Hermione had made him in case he was ever captured by Voldemort. Neville knew that Harry was something beyond an ordinary wizard, that he had a power beyond magic.

He also knew that Harry Potter would _never_ be killed by three wizards in a street duel, not unless they were all equal to Voldemort in level of power.

The articles contained a detailed report of the fight, including individual spells used by the Harry and his attackers. Yes, so Harry had used his _Marauder Charge _transfiguration spell, but why hadn't he used his _other_ specialty, the one no one else knew about?

Neville had watched Harry practice with lightning like energy attack for two solid weeks after he was released from the hospital wing after his capture by Voldemort. Neville had been by his side, watching as the ability to create sparks in his hand escalated to being able to vaporise large animals with a flick of a wrist. Why hadn't Harry used that during the fight that killed him?

It _was_ possible that he no longer _had_ that ability, that it had vanished along with Voldemort, but he didn't know if that was the case. He had seen Harry using a small amount of his ability to frighten Scrimgeour before he Disapparated from Diagon Alley, so he didn't know if that was the case.

He read the article again. There _no_ doubt that Harry had been at the scene of the attack. He didn't doubt that Harry had cast the spells that had been reported, but _something_ was wrong with the whole thing. Something in his gut told him that what had happened, and what the newspaper _said_ happened, where two different things.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(POV change)_

He sat in silence, staring at the photo of Potter that was screaming at him from the front page of the_ Prophet. _Actually, glaring might be a better word. He read the article an innumerable amount of times now and had come to the same conclusion each time.

Potter was _still alive_.

There was no way _three _people had taken Potter out. Maybe if they'd hit him by surprise, or if he'd been injured first, it might be true, but according to the newspaper Potter had been out shopping and had talked with the assailants before.

That detail made him angry. Potter had been out _shopping!_ Like there was nothing wrong in the world, like he had no idea of the damage he had caused _him!_

But no, Potter hadn't been killed by three men. He had seen the way that bastard child had stood before a battalion of aurors with a casual confidence. He had seen the look in Potter's eyes and _knew_ that the kid was confident enough to take the Ministries Police Force out. After he'd killed He-who-must-not-be-named without any apparent effort, few would doubt he could do the same to a group of aurors.

He gripped the newspaper tightly, scrunching it up. Potter was still alive. He may have fooled the rest of the world with this hoax, but he knew a thing or two about falsifying evidence and inaccurate newspaper reports, and this stunk of it. From what he'd been told, every newspaper in the world was leading with this information, so that meant the evidence was false.

There were also, apparently, multiple photo's of the crime scene; a crime scene that had been thoroughly investigated.

That meant the evidence was also real. The investigating teams _had_ found a body.

That didn't mean Potter was really dead though. No, the boy had been privy to a dark ritual that provided a body for He-who-must-not-be-named. Maybe he'd picked up a few hints from that day and decided to use them to fake his death?

_That_ seemed likely and if it _was_ true and he could confirm it, it would solidify him in the hearts and minds of the British people again. He could bring in Harry Potter, _prove_ that their _saviour_ eagerly practiced dark magic, have him arrested, and then, _then_ he'd get his hand on the Pure Blood Fortune and be remembered for millennia as one of the greatest men of the century.

He just had to find Potter first. He moved across his office to the large world map on his wall. Several points were marked with a glowing green orb, showing the places he _knew_ Potter had been. There were eight in total, spanning mostly across Europe. The only marked outside of Europe was placed on the North East side of The America's. Drawing his wand he tapped the map on the area designated as California, leaving a glowing green orb where the wand tip had been placed. He stepped back, staring at the map. "Where are you hiding?" he asked.

Nothing jumped out at him.

That was of no real consequence though. He _would _find Potter, it was only a matter of time now.

None the less, he would continue his search at the place of Potter's death and move on from there.

Potter's time was numbered, and soon, he would be Britain's Minister of Magic once again.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Part of the next chapter will contain Harry's funeral… partly. If there are any specific characters you would like to read a few paragraphs about, please let me know and I'll see about including it._

_Hope you enjoyed this!_


	29. Orphan

**AN:**_ Again, sorry about the delay. For those that read my other story, and update will (should) be posted within the week._

_Please, please review! And send PM's. I like PM's._

**Chapter 29 – Orphan**

_(Monday 23rd May, 2005)_

It had been a week since Harry's '_death_' and he was constantly checking into Marauder Tower for an update on what was happening. It hadn't been much of a surprise for him to discover that the media blitz that had happened on the day of his _'death'_ continued. The press were running with this story in such a manner that it seemed as though the rest of the world had just stopped moving. For the entire week his face had been on the front page of over 90 newspapers and it didn't appear as though it was going to stop any time soon. Thankfully, it was a somewhat older photo, taken in his 7th year of Hogwarts. He looked quite different now.

After the initial shock died down, excited and nervous chatter had broken out, ranging from all different topics. People where desperate to know what had happened or what was going to happen to the Pure Blood Fortune. People were nervous that a new group of Dark Lords had arisen; how else could they explain the demise of _Harry Potter_?

When he read that the three wizards that 'killed' him were equal in power to Voldemort, he'd just shook his head and moved onto the next newspaper. His goal, and that of Dr. Warner and Zeke was allow the 'Death Eaters' to win with a lucky strike, rather than overpowering him. He'd never heard of anyone using a Sunlight charm in a fight before, but he'd thought that people would just assume that he was taken by surprise. Some of the newspapers had stated that, others took more liberal view point.

Harry could never understand why journalists did that. Sure, they sold papers, but was it really worth worrying everyone?

Now, a week after his 'murder', the reports on his death were slipping away and they were beginning to focus on his funeral. What was happening was turning into as much a nightmare as he'd imagined.

He'd always been a simple guy. He'd always hated people fussing over him or making him the centre of attention. Never having believed he'd have lived this long, Harry had imagined his funeral a few times. He wanted something simple, with just his friends. That wasn't what he was getting. Not by a long shot.

The upcoming funeral was now reaching the levels that Dumbledore's funeral had been like. From what the tabloids were saying, he could easily expect 500 people. There was also talk of a monument being built in his honour, much like what had happened to Dumbledore.

It made him glad that he was thousands of miles away.

He tried not focusing on what was going to happen the next day and Lois was doing her best to achieve that. She'd noticed his mood and the last time he'd been like that he'd shouted at her, revealing far more information than he should of about his past. He'd be more careful this time.

"You're telling me you've never seen it?" Lois asked, clearly exasperated.

"Lois, I keep telling you that I'd only ever watched a handful of films before I came here. Also, pretty much all the films I've seen since coming to Kansas have been with you," Harry told her.

"But how can you _not _have seen The Wizard of Oz?" she asked again.

"Am I talking to myself?" Harry muttered. "It's not that big of a deal, is it?" he asked.

Lois rolled her eyes, "It's a classic." She picked up the DVD from a pile of them and tossed it to Harry. "If you don't watch these films, why do you even have them?"

Harry looked at the box and shrugged his shoulders. "I bought the TV and, well, pretty much everything that went with it. I thought I'd buy some films. Most people my age would have seen more than four films, so I thought I'd see what the fuss was about."

"What the fuss was about?" Lois muttered, shaking her head. "And which genius way did you pick them out, Eenie-meenie-miny-moe?" she asked sarcastically.

Harry shrugged again, reading the blurb on the back of the box, "I just paid some guy at the store to pick me out some good ones," he absently told her. The films synopsis was vague and Harry got the feeling he was already suppose to know what it was about.

"Can you not do anything the normal way?" Lois asked, taking the box from his hand and placing the DVD in the player.

Harry's thoughts drifted back to his upcoming funeral, "Apparently not."

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry had mixed feelings about the film so far. He'd initially been surprised to learn the film started in a small Kansas farm area, not unlike where he stayed now. He refrained from commenting on the magic used in the story, knowing that it annoyed Lois when he did that. To Lois' annoyance he hadn't taken too well to the Scarecrow or the Tin Man, the former reminding him of a seriously warped Inferi and the latter remained him of the charmed suits of armour that Hogwarts had that would activate and defend the castle during an attack. As a former Gryffindor, he'd liked the Lion and it reminded him of someone he'd once known.

He wasn't sure Neville would appreciate the comparison.

The thing that caught his attention most wasn't the film, but Lois' reaction to it. During several of the musical numbers he'd caught her mouthing the words. She wasn't aware he'd noticed and he had no intention of ever telling her. Lois choosing this film had been a surprise; she usually preferred action movies that involved high speed chases and explosion. To watch her mouth the words along to _this _film was, well, it was endearing.

It was beginning to disturb him how he'd been thinking about Lois lately. Ever since she'd drunkenly kissed him at New Year and he'd realised he hadn't mind that much, there had been a niggling thought in the back of his head that he wouldn't mind being kissed by her again. He'd said nothing to anyone about this and he'd tried occluding the thought, but it stubbornly remained.

A relationship with Lois was something he couldn't do. His past was too messed up, his present was too complicated, they lived together and he had too many secrets over his head. A relationship with him was doomed to fail. He'd imagined a relationship with Lana for a while, but that crush was gone now. She was now just a friend and not one that he spent much time with outside of school. She was still dating Jason and with him genetically being a Malfoy, Harry couldn't get too close to him without itching to curse him into oblivion.

However, he still couldn't get past the thought of what could be with Lois if he had a normal life. He focused back on the movie and soon found his eyes drifting over to Lois again. She was mouthing the words to another song with the type of smile he rarely saw on her face. It was the type of smile that proved to the world that behind Lois' tough facade, there _was_ a normal girl there.

He sat in silence switching between watching the film and watching Lois. His mind was such a mess these days he didn't quite know how he hadn't been committed to Belle Reve yet.

A fainting humming noise surrounded the house. Harry sat up straight, looking around, trying to determine the source of the noise. Lois glanced around as well, not as bothered as Harry was. He could feel a faint energy in the air. The feeling was difficult to describe; it was as if gravity had suddenly gotten stronger. A glance at Lois could tell she couldn't feel the same sensation.

The faint energy source that filled the air suddenly increased. The lights in the house began to flicker. His head began to ache and he instantly released what was happening.

The wards on the house were being attacked.

The wards on the house were _failing_.

He'd been discovered! _'It's only been a week!' _Harry mentally screamed as he felt the wards shuddering, failing at an impressive rate. Making a quick decision and one he really hoped he wouldn't regret later he send a stunning spell towards Lois. She was unconscious in a heartbeat. He hated doing this to Lois, but if people were here for a fight, she'd just get in the way. He levitated her, cast a disillusionment charm on her and with a thought, killed the power to the house.

Running through scenarios in his head he realised he had no information on what was happening or how many people he was going to have to fight. A flick of his right hand opened the nearest window and seconds later he'd transformed in his animagus form of a peregrine falcon and had flown out the window.

In his falcon form, Horus, the name given to it by the locals in Smallville, he soared upwards, his keen eyes taking in every detail. He noticed two things instantly; one, there was no one visible outside and two, the Kent house was brightly, and supernaturally, glowing. That odd realisation made him pause for a moment before he began a steep dive to the ground. Meters before hitting the ground he transformed, casting a quick spell to stop his decent. He landed hard but remained upright.

He Disapparated from where he stood, instantly reappearing at the front door of the Kent house. The glowing had stopped. Having no time to decide on a stealth approached or force, he just opened the front door with his left hand, his right ready to start firing curses. He quickly stepped into the house only to lower his arm as soon as he did. Mr. Kent, Clark and Lana stood facing something he couldn't see. Based on the look he saw on Mr. Kent's face, whatever it was wasn't a threat, just a shock and Clark was standing straight but unmoving. If Clark hadn't done anything, the odds of this being a life and death situation were slim.

He edged into the room, still unnoticed by the group. Stepping closer, Clark finally turned around causing Lana to turn as well. The look on her face was a difficult one to put a name to. It was a strong mixture between shock, fear and uncertainty. No one appeared to know what to say. Taking another step closer he saw over Lana's head he saw what everyone had been staring at. Sitting up in the crib of a newborn baby was a young, naked boy. He couldn't be older than seven years old and he glanced around the room nervously.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The next several hours passed quickly. Having returned home, removed the disillusionment charm from Lois, laying her on the couch and covering her in a blanket, he returned the Kent's. He was satisfied that when Lois woke up she'd assumed that she'd fallen asleep.

The Kent household was in a bit of disarray as everyone tried to wrap their heads around what had just happened. In simple terms, the child that had been in the Kent's home _hadn't_ been that age moments before the energy surge. What had happened was a baby boy of only two days old had suddenly aged seven years in the time it had taken Harry to exit his house and Apparate a mile. Why this had happened, no one knew.

How the Clark and Lana found the young boy that Clark had named Evan, might begin to explain what happened. Lana had been driving Clark back from the Talon when an explosion of golden energy had occurred in a nearby field. After stopping they discovered a large crater in the field with nothing more than a newborn baby boy lying at its centre.

After taking the boy to the local medical centre and having him checked out, he was brought back to the Kent's to be looked after until social services turned up. He hadn't had much to do with Evan since the Kent's had begun temporarily fostering him. He couldn't ever recall ever being around a baby and he had no idea what to do. According to Chloe and Lois, he was mildly baby-phobic. Chloe, after pulling a 911 phone call out the blue was currently tracking down Evan's father. Harry had also passed on the phone number to Jenny and she was seeing what she could find.

From the phone call they all had a pretty good idea of what had happened. Evan's mother, pregnant with her little boy had gone into labour. Evans' father appeared to have been rushing to the hospital when something odd had happened. Evans' father had then stopped the car and taken off. Moments later the line had gone dead. That was the moment they'd guessed the explosion had happened.

Now though, it was the night after they'd found Evan and he was already seven years old. That led to a whole lot of questions that he had no answers for. Having allowed the Kent family and Lana to deal with the young kid they were now looking after, Harry stepped outside after making sure Clark would discuss what had just happened after things quieted down. It took an hour for Clark to appear.

"Everything alright?" Harry asked as Clark neared him.

"I... I don't know," Clark told him, clearly worried. He frowned slightly, "How did you know something was happening? It couldn't have been chance that you turned up moments after it happened."

Harry considered his answer. He couldn't say anything about feeling wards failing. He settled on a partial truth. "I felt the energy from my living room. The air got heavier and when I got outside I could see your house glowing. I thought you were being attacked."

Clark nodded, satisfied with answer. He leaned against a nearby fence.

"How's Evan?" Harry asked. He hadn't stayed long enough to get a real answer. All he knew was that Evan had the vocabulary of seven year old and apparently had no idea that he'd just aged at an incredible speed.

"He's asleep in my bed," Clark told him. "After Lana and I calmed him down and dressed him, he was asleep instantly."

"He has no idea what happened?" Harry asked, curiously. What was this boy?

"No, and that's part of what confuses me most," Clark confided. "He doesn't _know_ Lana and I, or anyone else, but it's like he's already lived for seven years. His speech is perfectly normal and he had no trouble getting dressed by himself."

Harry frowned, thinking hard. He thought about suggesting that he attempt legilimancy on Evan, but he'd never tried that on someone so young. He didn't what damage, if any, it would cause. He'd speak with Evan and see what he could discover though. "So what do you think he is?" Harry eventually asked.

Harry saw the indecision that flashed across Clark's face. Harry was curious as to _why_ Clark hesitated for a moment. "A second generation meta-human?" Clark suggested. His friends had been quick to change 'meteor freak' to 'meta-human' due to Harry's initial reaction to the word 'freak'. Meta-human was now the commonly used word.

Harry nodded, "It's the most likely scenario. Do you think he's stopped aging?" Harry asked, voicing one of the first questions he'd thought of after seeing the changed Evan.

"I don't know," Clark said, his worry obvious.

"You're going to need to have someone look him over. If he's anything like his mother, next time he changes he might destroy everything around him," Harry warned Clark.

"Who do you suggest?" Clark asked. "If I take him to a hospital he's either going to end up in Belle Reve or a laboratory for the rest of his life."

Harry had an instant suggestion; take Evan to Prometheus Labs. That involved serious complications though, things he'd been trying to avoid revealing to his friends. If he took Evan to Prometheus, he'd have to take Lana and Clark and after that there was no way he could hide what he did for a living. They were his friends and he'd trust them with his life, but he was comfortable with who they perceived him to be. He didn't want to change that.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Tuesday 24__th__ May, 2005)_

The next morning Harry found himself outside the Kent farm. He had school in an hour, but after spending the night running through this Evan mystery, he wanted to see what was happening and whether or not Evan was a danger. If he aged again or exploded, there was no telling how much damage could be done. That, and the ward damage troubled him. It had taken four hours to repair the damage that Evan's change had done.

He knocked on the front door and wasn't surprised to see Mrs. Kent preparing breakfast. Clark was also seated at the table next to Evan. "Good morning Harry," Mrs. Kent greatly with a smile. "Have you eaten already?" she asked, glancing down at the pan in her hands.

"I'm fine Mrs. Kent," Harry assured her. "You mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Of course not," Mrs. Kent told him. "If you want anything, just ask."

Harry smiled at her and sent a nod over to Clark and walked over to the table. He ducked down slightly, dropping to one knee in front of Evan. "You must be Evan," Harry said. "Hi, I'm Harry." He offered his hand for Evan to shake, curious to see if he would reciprocate. The boy was eating with good table manners, and it seemed obvious that Clark hadn't just taught him them this morning. Harry smiled slightly as Evan reached out for his hand, doing his best not to react as he touched Evan's skin; he'd definitely need to talk to Clark about that.

Evan shook his hand once with a smile, seemingly pleased to be given an adult-like greeting. "Hi," he said back with a smile. He looked over to Clark, "How do you know Harry?" he asked. Well, he certainly wasn't shy.

"He's a friend of mine," Clark told the kid.

"Oh," Evan said before turning back to Harry. "It's nice to meet you," he said. Evan _clearly_ had manners. What had happened to this boys mind during his sudden aging?

"Nice to meet you too Evan," Harry replied, standing up and taking a seat. "You know, my last names Evans," he told the boy.

Evans' eyes widened in surprise for a moment before his face scrunched up in thought. "Does that mean we're related?" he asked curiously, his head tilted slightly to the right.

Harry shook his head, "Nope, but it means we need to look out for each other."

"Really?" Evan asked in surprise.

Harry nodded in a slightly exaggerated manner with a smile on his face. "Of course it does. We're Evan's, and that means it's our duty to. Right, Clark?" Harry asked, looking up at his friend.

Clark nodded at Evan, a smile on his face. "He's right."

"Oh," Evan said in surprise. "Cool!" Just as he was pleased to have received an adult greeting, he was pleased to have duty to uphold; a little bit of responsibility.

"Evan, have you finished?" Mrs. Kent asked, the boys plate now empty.

"Uh huh," Evan told her.

"Then go wash your hands and then come back, ok?" she asked kindly.

"Sure," Evan agreed, jumping down from his chair and running through the house. She looked back over to Harry, "You were really good with him," she remarked. There was a bit of surprise in her voice. Considering how he'd been awkward with Evan when he was a baby, he couldn't blame her.

Harry shrugged, "I've never had any experience with babies before, but I've met a few kids Evans age."

That was completely true. Not only did he still see the O'Malley's daughter, Grace, during his frequent trips to Metropolis, but when families back in Britain began being attacked and hunted, they started moving into Hogwarts. With the ancient castle holding the Order of the Phoenix, Albus Dumbledore _and _Harry Potter, it was easily the safest place in the country. There had never been a full scale assault on the castle and, naturally, everyone wanted to move to the safest place.

Beyond Hogwarts usual residents, entire families soon began moving in, including several with small children. Due to Harry being a celebrity, the kids were naturally curious about him. They'd all heard that Harry Potter was a hero; that he was fighting against the bad man that was scaring their parents. When a young girl the same age as Evan had introduced herself to him and begun asking question, he'd had no idea what to do.

Using the closest reference he had to a child of seven, he talked to the girl like he would the first and second years he was giving some simple defence lessons too. He'd shaken her hand and when she asked questions, he answered them before asking his own questions. He hadn't realised that he'd been speaking to the small girl in pigtails for twenty minutes before her mother dragged her away, apologising profusely to Harry for her daughter pestering him.

It was when he'd finally glanced back to his friends, who had been watching in silent bemusement, that he'd sat talking with a kid for longer than he'd imagined. It was a moment that he clearly remembered. He'd rarely seen Hermione look at him so proudly, and later he'd found out that it was the moment Ginny realised she was _truly_ in love with him, beyond her fan-girl crush and beyond her role as a friend.

He really hoped she wasn't taking his death too hard.

And so, after having spoken with that little girl he earned himself a new following; that of Pre-Hogwarts students. It had been one of the odder moments in his life.

"Your friends had brothers and sister?" Mrs. Kent asked.

Harry hesitated in his answer, "Well, yes, but they were all older. A few families visited my school and some had kids." He shrugged, "They seemed to take a liking to me. I had no idea what to do, so I just treated them like the first and second years I tutored and they seemed to respond to that."

"Well, Evan certainly seems to like you," Mrs. Kent said with a smile. She glanced to the doorway that Evan had taken off through. "Where is that boy?" she asked, partly to herself. She turned to her son, "Can you finish this up, Clark?" she asked.

"Sure Mom," Clark offered, taking over making himself breakfast. Mrs. Kent left the room, searching for the young boy.

Harry made sure she was out of earshot before he spoke again, "Clark, there's definitely something going on with Evan."

Clark placed the frying pan down and focused his attention on Harry, "What do you mean?" His concern was clear.

"When I touched his hand it felt like static electricity was running up my arm," Harry told, lying slightly. The effect was quite different from static electricity, but without mentioning magic, he couldn't describe it properly. "There's still some of that energy in him."

"What does that mean?" Clark asked.

Harry shrugged again, "It's either residual from his change last night, that there will always be some of that energy in him, or he's building that energy up again," he speculated.

Clark frowned in worry, knowing how dangerous the latter was. "What do you think we should do?" he asked, looking for advice.

Harry closed his eyes, slipping deep into his mind, trying to work out possible solutions. The first was plan take Evan to Prometheus Labs _immediately_, but that might not be needed. He didn't know enough about what was happening to Evan to involve things he wanted to keep secret for a little while longer. After a minute he only had one solution he thought could really work. He opened his eyes again and looked to Clark, "Convince your mum to let me spend the morning with him. I should be able to tell if the energy in Evan is increasing. If it is, we'll come up with something then," Harry told him.

Clark considered it for a moment. "Don't you have class today?"

Harry half shrugged, "Free period this morning with no classes until later. This is more important anyways."

Clark's reply was cut off with a light knock to the front door. Without needing prompting Lana opened the door and walked. The smile on Clark's face was very telling as was the slightly embarrassed look on Lana's face. "Morning Lana," Clark greeted.

"Good morning Clark, Harry." She paused for a two-count as Harry gave her a small single wave. "Is Evan around?" she asked, looking around the room.

"He should be," Clark told, glancing to the doorway Evan and Mrs. Kent had gone through. "He's just..."

Clark trailed off as quick footsteps could be heard. "Lana!" Evan shouted, running up and hugging the woman. Harry's eyebrows shot up in surprise at the greeting. There was obvious attachment there from both parties. Lana wasn't a surprise, but Evan was clearly happy to see her. After only being awake for an hour last night in his seven year old form, that level of attachment was odd. Perhaps it worked in the same level as Evan's intelligence; just appearing from nowhere.

"Lana, do you know Harry?" Evan asked her as the hug broke.

She smiled at the little boy, "Sure I do. He's a friend."

"Did you know we're both Evan's's?" he asked, his excitement obvious.

Lana shot Harry a quick look before turning back to Evan, "I did."

"That's means we have each other's back!" he told her.

Lana glanced over a Harry, a questioning yet amused look. He just smiled back and shrugged. With her smile still firmly in place she turned back to Evan, "It does?" she asked. Evan nodded, quite sure. "Well, you'll have to look after Harry then. He tends to get into lots of trouble."

Harry saw Clark smile and the look he gave her clearly said that she got into just as much trouble as he did. Her smile didn't dim even slightly. Evan too was looking at Harry. The intensity and gaze of caused his breathe to hitch slightly. The inquisitive look held a strong intelligence that very much reminded him of an early Hermione Granger when trying to decide whether she could risk breaking one of the school rules that she held so dear.

He shook his head slightly, clearing those thoughts. He missed Evans response but he was saved from having to respond when Mrs. Kent walked back into the room. "Good morning Lana," she said with a kind smile.

"Morning Mrs. Kent," Lana replied.

"Here to see Evan?" she asked, going back to the stove.

"I wanted to check on him before school," Lana replied, ruffling the you boy's hair.

"Do you hafta to go school?" Evan asked with a frown, clearly against that idea.

Lana hesitated, glancing towards Clark. Harry saw his opening for a little reconnaissance, "Clark and Lana have to go to school, but I bet we can find some fun things to do until they get back."

"You don't have school?" Evan asked.

"Nope," Harry told the boy. "So what do you say? Spend the day with me?" He glanced quickly up to Mrs. Kent, "If that's alright with you?" he asked.

"Oh Harry, you don't have to do that," Mrs. Kent assure him, as though it would be a inconvenience to him.

"It's no problem Mrs. Kent. Clark and Lana have school, you and Mr. Kent have to work, and I don't have school." He smiled slightly, "All by myself, who knows what trouble I'll get into."

"Please Mrs. Kent!" Evan piped in. "It's my duty to keep him outta trouble!"

Clark and Lana grinned at Evan's plea and Mrs. Kent, having missed the earlier conversation just glanced around the room confused. She thought it over for a minute before asking one more time. "Are you sure?" she said, looking at Harry.

"Absolutely," he promised. "Right, Evan?" he asked.

"Right!" Evan replied quickly.

"Well, alright then. Thank you, Harry." She looked thankful for the help. Knowing that the Kent's were always a bit strapped for cash, he had known she wouldn't want to miss work.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It had taken Harry the walk back to his house to understand that Evan wouldn't want toys to play with, or films to watch when they reached their destination. After a very short way away from the house Evan had asked Harry what books he had. The anticipation in his voice had once again reminded him of Hermione and he'd stumbled a little. He had asked Evan what books he liked, curious on whether they boy would even know any. He'd only been slightly surprised when Evan had asked if he owned an Encyclopaedia. Evan had been quite pleased when Harry had told him that yes, he did own one.

That was apparently Evan's favourite book.

He firmly decided that _this_ was what Hermione had been like as a seven year old.

After that, everything had gone swimmingly.

Despite the fact that Harry had really enjoyed his afternoon with Evan, watching some cartoons with him, talking with him and helping out with his reading of the Encyclopaedia, most of his concentration had been on just watching Evan. It could simply be said that Evan was a genius of near supernatural order. When he had given Evan the Encyclopaedia, the boy had glanced at each page for a little while and then turned to the next one. He had done this so quickly that Harry assumed that he either skimmed the pages or was just flicking through it.

He'd been shocked to find that Evan had absorbed the information in the short time he studied a page. His memory wasn't eidetic, he couldn't recite passages back, but he learned the information in a record pace. In only thirty minutes, he'd worked through the A's, B's, C's and the D's.

What hadn't been much of a shock was learning that Evan was still generating the same energy that had aged him. Harry wasn't lucky enough to have avoided that one. Having given Evan a piggyback ride across the mile long walk from the Kent's house to his, he built up a baseline of what energy level Evan was at. It had taken several hours for Harry to realise, with certainty, that Evan was giving off more energy than he had during the morning. The increase was gradual, but it was constant.

Harry had checked the wards of the house, and after being satisfied that Evan wasn't absorbing their energy into himself, he began casting as many identification spells he could without Evan being any wiser. He hadn't been able to learn much. He needed those at Prometheus Labs to help Evan.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was a little after lunch that Harry returned Evan to the Kent farm. As High School Seniors nearing the end of their education they had very few lessons and Clark and Lana were finished by 1pm. Harry and Evan arrived at the Kent farm moments before them. Evan enthusiastically told them about his day and Harry slipped off to the side. He was trying to plan exactly _what_ he was going to tell Clark and Lana and exactly _how_ they were going to get to Prometheus. He had three options as far as he could tell, and they were all undesirable.

It took nearly half an hour for Evan to begin to quiet down another ten before Clark pulled Harry aside. "Well?" Clark asked.

"The energy is still building up," Harry told him, not sugar-coating it. "I don't know by how much, or how long it will take before the energy reaches a peak point."

Clark sighed, receiving the answer he didn't want. "I'm going to need to take him to Lex," Clark sighed, not looking forward to that.

Harry ran a hand through his hair, knowing now was the moment one of his secrets began to unravel. "No, you won't," Harry said.

"What do you mean?" Clark asked, confused. "I might not completely trust Lex, but he's the one that knows the most about meta-humans." Clark sighed, "I have to trust he won't do anything to harm Evan."

Harry sighed, "I won't explain everything now, but I know a better place to take Evan. I fully trust the people there and they probably know as much, if not more than LuthorCorp do about the supernatural."

Clark frowned, "Why haven't I heard about this before?"

Harry sighed, "Clark, I will explain, I was planning on doing so during the summer, but I have to tell you, Lana, Chloe and Lois at the same time, and we don't have the luxury of doing that now. If you and Lana agree, we can get Evan there soon and they'll do everything they can to help him." Harry desperately wanted Clark to agree. He didn't want to change how his friends saw him, and because he had to, he was going to get it over with in one go.

Clark looked hesitant. Perhaps it was because of the desperation in Harry's voice, or perhaps it was because Clark truly _did_ trust him, but he eventually agreed. "You promise you'll explain everything?" Clark asked with a piercing look. It was a look he'd only seen on Clark's face a few times and it was the one that reminded Harry that Clark had power.

"With everyone together, yes, but we need to get Evan looked at now. I don't know how long his energy build-up will take, and I don't know how long it will take to discover what we can do to help Evan."

"Alright," Clark finally agreed. "I'll talk to Lana and send Evan out to you." Harry nodded and watched Clark walk back into his house. Evan appeared a moment later.

"Harry, what are Lana and Clark talking about?" Evan asked curiously.

Harry considered his answer and settled on a partial truth. "Well Evan, you are a very special little boy, but we don't quite know _how _special. That's something Clark needs to talk to Lana about."

Evan frowned, not really understanding. "How am I special?" he asked.

Not able to think of an answer off the top of his head he dodged the question. "That's difficult to explain just now, but after you meet some friends of mine, they'll be able to tell you."

Evan continued to frown. "Will it take long?" he asked.

"I don't know Evan, but I hope not," Harry told him, not liking this any more than Evan did.

Evan was quiet for a moment. "Will there be books there?" he asked suddenly.

Harry laughed, more than a little amused. "I'll make sure of it," he promised. "Do you want to keep reading your Encyclopaedia?" Evan nodded quickly causing Harry to smile. He heard the door of the Kent house open and saw Clark at the door. Harry placed a hand on Evan's left shoulder and directed him back to the house.

His eyes sought out Lana the moment he entered the yellow farm house. He couldn't accurately read the expression on her face.

"Evan," Clark said. "Why don't you go up to my room and I'll be there soon, alright?" he asked.

Evan didn't seem happy about being excluded again. He turned to Harry, "Is this more talk about me?" he asked.

Harry ducked down beside him, "Nah, just boring adult stuff."

Satisfied he ran up the stairs to Clark's room. Harry turned to Lana and waited for her to speak. She and Clark were the ones technically in charge of Evan and even though his instincts told him to take control of the situation, he'd leave control with Lana and Clark for the moment.

"You think you can help him?" Lana asked.

"I don't know," Harry told her honestly. "But I know people that I'm confident can."

Lana still seemed unsure. "I don't know."

"Lana," Clark said. "We knew the moment he changed that he needed to be looked over in case it happened again."

Lana turned to Harry, "Who are these people?" she asked.

Harry opened his mouth to give his default reply of _'a friend' _but stopped himself. They would know the truth soon enough. He rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably. "People I trust to look after Evan. People that answer to me," he added.

"Answer to you?" Lana asked in confusion. "Clark said you had some big secret that you couldn't tell us just yet. This is part of it, isn't it?"

Harry nodded, "When everyone is together I'll explain it fully, but right now we need to help Evan and to do that we need to get going. I need you to agree to this before we can do anything."

Lana sighed, "Alright. What do we need to do?"

Harry let out a relieved sigh. "Let me make a few phone calls and then we leave. Excuse me." He pulled his phone from his pocket and moved a few steps away from Clark and Lana. By the time he held it in his hand, the phone had already dialled the first number. After a quick phone call to Jenny to prepare Prometheus Labs for their arrival, he dialled the second number.

"Hey… I've been better. Listen, I need a huge favour, and feel free to tell me where to get off… I need to you be at the Kent house as soon as you can for a transport of four… Clark, Lana, myself and a kid that needs looked over by PLabs……… I owe you for this…… five minutes… See you then."

Harry hung up the phone and walked back over to Clark and Lana. "Everything's arrange, as well as transportation."

"So what's going to happen now?" Clark asked.

"First I need to explain about where we're taking Evan. It's called Prometheus Labs and it's in an underground area of Metropolis. This lab has been operational for nearly a year and it deals specifically with supernatural."

"You mean meta-humans?" Lana asked, a slight note of distaste in her voice.

"That and a bit more," Harry told Lana truthfully. "My involvement in this isn't something I can explain now, but one thing I have been doing during my time in Smallville is talk with the meta-humans that have passed through here and invite them to be a part of this lab."

"That's why you moved to Smallville?" Lana asked in surprise, "To recruit meta-humans?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I moved here because I wanted a quiet year and a new place to call home. The fact that this town has constant contact with meta-humans was purely a coincidence that I made use of." Harry sighed uncomfortably. Neither Clark nor Lana would take the next part well.

"What aren't you telling us?" Lana asked, sensing his unease.

Harry paused for a moment, "Well, I…" He paused again.

"You recruited Alicia," Clark whispered. Harry could hear the pain in his voice at saying the name.

Lana's eyes darted quickly between Clark and Harry, "What?" she asked, a note of pained surprise in her voice.

Harry nodded at Clark, "I found her shortly after she vanished from here. She was hesitant, but realised it was her best option after a couple of months. She works for the lab now and has been extremely useful since then."

"You're working with Alicia?" Lana asked in disbelief. "After she tried to kill me?"

"That was a long time ago Lana and she was in a bad place. At the Lab we help her and she helps us. You are in no danger from her; I guarantee it." Lana didn't seem happy about this and Clark was still in some form of shock. "Lana, I've worked with her for months and see her quite frequently. She is my friend and I trust her, but if you can't accept that, just remember that she can get Evan to the lab in seconds, instead of the long drive and that she can take him back here when he gets bored at the lab."

She still wasn't happy but her desire to help Evan seemed to overpower her distrust of Alicia. "Fine, but why tell us this? Why does that matter right now?" she asked.

"Because she'll be here any minute," Clark answered, his voice still quiet. Though he hadn't seen or heard from the blonde teleporter in months, he obviously still cared about her.

Harry wondered if Clark had used his powers to listen into the conversation he had with Alicia, or if he was just very perceptive today. "The second call I made was to her. She'll be able to get us all into the lab," Harry admitted.

They lapsed into silence for a minute.

"Who else have you recruited?" Clark asked suddenly.

"What?" Harry asked, having zoned out slightly.

"You said that you talked with meta-humans, as in plural. Who else did you speak to?" he asked.

Harry ran through the list of his names in his head. There were a few and neither Clark nor Lana would be pleased to hear some of the names. Harry decided to just avoid the question, "I can't say. There are confidentiality agreements I have to uphold, and that list of names is only available to those with clearance." They didn't look satisfied with the answer. "Sorry," Harry added with a shrug.

A knock on the front door of the house stopped the conversation from proceeding further. "Call Evan down," Harry said to Lana before turning towards the door. He opened and greeted Alicia with a smile. "Come in," he told her. "They know you're coming."

"How did they take it?" Alicia asked, walking into the house with a hesitant step. She was dressed in a smart suit, her blonde hair tied in a neat ponytail.

"As well as you'd expect," Harry told her, closing the door behind her. She looked incredibly uncomfortable and Harry felt sorry for having to put her in this situation. He could have passed it off as allowing Alicia to face her fears and insecurities, a muggle version of a boggart, but that wouldn't be the truth.

"Why did you need me to do this?" Alicia asked quietly, verbalising his own thoughts.

"Heavy construction is still being done on the cover building above the labs. I wouldn't be able to get everyone in without being seen, nor do I want anyone knowing where that entrance is without being under some form of Binding Contract," Harry told her.

Alicia, having been told about the existence of magic two months ago, knew exactly what he meant in reference to the Contracts. "Even your friends?" Alicia asked, surprised.

"Unfortunately so," Harry told her. The existence of Prometheus Labs was heavily frowned upon by the Magical Community in the country, and with the added research of the meteor rocks, that lab would always be a target. Keeping its existence a secret was too important.

They entered the kitchen area of the house where Clark, Lana and Evan were waiting. Lana was standing close to Evan, her hand protectively placed on his shoulder. She wasn't glaring at Alicia but the look she was sending the blonde teleporter couldn't be described as anything other than 'cold'. Clark on the other hand just looked lost. The look in his eyes showed that he was still, in one way or another, in love with Alicia. He'd become quiet when Alicia had left last year, and she appeared to still have some sort of hold over him.

Evan just looked curious and confused.

"Alicia," Clark all but whispered, his voice full of emotion.

"Um, hi," Alicia said to the group in front of her. She was clearly uncomfortably.

Knowing that this could take a while unless he pushed things along, Harry cleared his throat. "Right," he said, looking down at the small boy seemingly attached to Lana. "Evan, this is my friend Alicia. She'll be helping us get to where we're going today." He turned to Alicia, "Alicia, this is Evan, the young man we'll be trying to help today."

"Hi," Evan said. He seemed a bit wary, likely picking up the tension in the room.

"Hello Evan," Alicia greeted back.

Harry smiled, "Great. Now we need to be going." He walked over to Evan and knelt down beside him. "Tell me Evan, do you believe in magic?" he asked. He heard Alicia choke slightly from behind him and Lana tense ever so slightly.

He shrugged, "I don't know. I guess so."

"Alright, well Alicia knows a really good magic trick that she's going to use to get us to where we're going, alright?" Harry asked. It wouldn't do to freak the boy out. He didn't know if that would release the energy building up inside him.

"What can she do?" he asked curiously. Harry wasn't entirely sure if Evan believed him.

"You can't tell anyone," Harry said, pretending to whisper. "But she can teleport."

"Really?" Evan asked, quite surprised. The look in the boy's eyes made it clear that he believed Harry.

"Yeah, she can and she's really good at it as well. She's going to teleport us now to the place that can help you."

"I'm going to _teleport_?!" he asked excitedly.

Harry smiled at the enthusiasm as he stood up. "As long as Lana and Clark have no last minute objections," Harry said. Whereas it was said as a statement, Lana and Clark both heard the question.

Lana looked Alicia directly in the eye, "This won't hurt him?" she asked bluntly.

"No," Alicia promised quietly. "I've done this hundreds of times. He'll... you'll all be perfectly fine. I promise."

Lana looked as though she wanted to state just how much a promise from Alicia meant to her, but she thankfully reconsidered. "Clark?" she asked.

"It'll be fine Lana," he promised her looking down directly into her eyes. The look between them told Harry that it wouldn't be long before Lana's boyfriend Jason became her ex. Alicia also saw the look and drew in a hurt filled breath. Harry watched her sadly. She still cared for Clark as well, and despite the fact that she had always known that Clark loved Lana, it still had to hurt seeing him move on with someone else.

"Alright," Lana eventually said. "What do we need to do?" she asked, looking between Harry and Alicia.

Alicia stepped forward, "If everyone touches my hands, we can go."

Having done this multiple times Harry took her left hand, signalling Evan to join him. Evan grabbed one of her fingers and held on. Clark and Lana took Alicia's right hand. Harry noticed her take a quick breath when she felt Clark's hand on hers. Harry vowed to keep an eye on her during the next few days. PLabs still hadn't come to a conclusion on the psyche of the GME's and whether or not there was a chemical affecting them that caused them to act in aggressive dangerous ways, or if it was simply about power corrupting them. They were apparently getting close to a discovery.

Making sure everyone had a hold of her Alicia closed her eyes, took a deep breath and then teleported to Metropolis. Harry saw the Kent farm disappeared in a swirl of green energy and then they were in Metropolis.

"Cool!" Evan exclaimed as he quickly looked around them, taking in the new location. They had appeared just in front of the main access lift to the Lab. Two guards stood ready, their wands concealed. Doctor Warner stood between them with a smile on his face.

"Everyone's ready, Harry," he promised as he stepped forward.

"Good, I want this sorted soon," Harry told them man before turning to his friends. "Clark, Lana, this Doctor Warner, head of Prometheus Labs." He turned back to Warner, "My friends and this," he glanced down at young boy, "is Evan."

Warner shook everyone's hand. "It's nice to meet you all." He knelt down beside Evan, "Now young man, we're going to need to borrow you for a little while, alright?"

"What's going to happen?" Evan asked hesitantly, his excitement over having teleported vanishing.

"We just need to run some test and make sure you're as healthy as any other young boy you're age," Warner promised.

"Can we go with him?" Lana asked, looking between Warner and Harry.

Harry glanced at towards the doctor. Magic would be used to determine what Evan was, and with Lana only having partial knowledge over its existence, Harry wasn't sure how discreet the wand users would be. Warner glanced at him and at his shrug, answered, "You both may come as long as there is no interfering with the tests," Warner told them with a stern glance.

"You go," Clark told her. "I need to speak to Harry. I'll catch up."

"Sure," Lana told him. "Come on Evan," she told the boy, steering him with a hand on his shoulder.

Warner, Lana and Evan walked down one of the long white corridors and disappeared from view.

Harry turned to Alicia, "Thank you," he told her sincerely. "I owe you for this."

Alicia smiled at him, "I was just doing my job."

Harry shrugged, "Your job description's too vague to really put any duties on it. None the less, thank you. I'll call you if we need your help again."

Alicia nodded and turned to Clark. "Bye Clark. It was good to see you again."

"You too," Clark told her, his voice quiet.

With a sad smile, Alicia vanished in a swirl of green light.

Harry sighed deeply, knowing Clark would want a lot of information out of him. "Come on," he told the taller man. "We'll find a conference room or something."

"And then you'll give me some answers?" Clark asked, strength in his voice.

"Some," Harry promised. "Others aren't mine to tell."

"Alright," Clark acquiesced.

It didn't take Harry long to find the conference room. The room was spacious, a large table in the middle of the room with a dozen chairs surrounding it. An expensive looking projector hung over head. After making sure it was empty, he and Clark entered. The class on the door instantly frosted over as it closed, giving them complete privacy. They both took a seat. "Alright," Harry started. "What do you want to know?" He leant back in his comfortable leather seat and waited.

"What is this place?" Clark asked.

"Exactly as I said it was. The lab was built to study and understand GME's and other meta-humans."

"GME's?" Clark asked. "This is where you got that name from?"

Harry nodded, "That's the scientific name that's been coined here. LuthorCorp probably have a different name, but that's what we use here."

"What does LuthorCorp have to do with this?" Clark asked, frowning.

"From what we know LuthorCorp has a similar lab to this somewhere in the city. We don't know what he's doing or what it's called, but we know he has one." Several people they'd also suspected of being GME's had also vanished shortly before an invitation could be given to them. There was some security footage of one of these young men being dragged off the streets by people in a black van that MI hadn't been able to trace. There was also the incident with Vi.

"You think he's studying meta-humans?" Clark asked, worried.

Harry nodded, "It's what we've heard, but he's keeping the details very quiet."

"And how do you fit into this?" Clark asked suddenly. "Did they find out about your abilities and bring you in?"

Harry hesitated for a second before he shook his head, "Explaining my role here would lead to more questions that I can't answer just now. I promise you'll know by the end of the day though. I need to tell everyone at once."

"Do they know about me?" Clark asked, his voice quiet.

Harry shook his head. "I've not even mentioned your name to them," he promised. "And I wouldn't mention anyone's name unless the person said it was alright. I've not mentioned Bart's name to anyone, even though a lot of people would be interested in meeting him."

Clark seemed to accept that. He sighed and Harry took that to mean he'd finished with his probing questions. "Do you really think they'll be able to help Evan?" he asked, looking over his shoulder, indicating the lab.

"If anyone can, it's the people here. I'm not too worried," Harry promised with confidence.

"So have you been tested?" Clark asked. "Do they know why you can do the things you can?"

"I've put off taking the tests for a bit longer," Harry said after a moment.

Clark frowned, "You're a lot more to this place than just an employee, aren't you?"

"In not so many words, yes," Harry told him. He scratched the back of his neck uncomfortably; Clark wasn't letting go of this. Eager to delay the subject until this evening he changed the path of the conversation. "Just so you know, if you ever want a deeper understanding of what you are, or hell, even just a run of the mill check-up, you can always come here. I can put you in touch with the people I trust with my secret."

Clark looked a bit uncomfortable. "Thank you," he said. Harry wasn't sure if he'd really consider it, but he'd made the offer none the less.

They sat in silence for a short while, the only sounds being the muffled noise of footsteps outside the conference room door.

"What does Alicia do here?" Clark eventually asked.

Harry snorted, "She does a lot." He rolled his eyes slightly, "I think she's on some sort of redemption quest or something." He leaned back into his chair and propped his feet on the desk. Clark gave him an unusual look.

"At first," Harry continued. "She was given a scholarship to Met U. and after graduating, she'd work here in the lab for four years. I'm sure you know she's interested in science. That carried on for a while. Eventually we began to find GME's that were, either living in Smallville or at least nearby. We tried to convince them that coming here was a good idea."

"Why _is_ coming here a good idea?" Clark asked, knowing it would take a lot to convince him to admit to having powers to anyone. The only reason he'd told Harry about his abilities was because he'd been locked in prison, trapped inside the body of a dying Lionel Luthor. That, and Harry seemed to already know about them.

"They're offered a good deal of money and the promise that they can leave at any time. If they stay for the tests, the offer is given to train and educate them in their powers, working out their limits. If that goes well, more offers are given depending on their interest or ability."

"So Alicia..." Clark started.

"Was given enough money to last her for a while, a scholarship, ability training and a job," Harry finished.

"You still haven't said what Alicia does. You mentioned convincing GME's to come here?" Clark asked.

Harry nodded. "After we failed to convince the first few people I spoke to Alicia. She trusted me because she knew that I was different and that you trusted me. I asked Alicia to join me next time we spoke to someone with an ability. With Alicia's past she was able to, convincingly, tell them about the dangers they might face, and with what she was doing now, their future. We haven't spoken to many people, but no one has turned us down since Alicia first spoke to that GME."

"So she's a recruiter?" Clark asked, quite surprised, but pleased that Alicia was doing well for herself.

"Part-time," Harry corrected. "She still takes classes at Met U and helps the scientists in the lab when she has free time."

"Wow," Clark muttered, impressed.

"She's good for this place and it helps her keep focused as well. That, and she's waiting to hear the result of one of our biggest projects."

"Which is?" Clark asked, leaning forward slightly.

"You've noticed that the vast majority of GME's have tried killing you, or just people in Smallville?" Harry asked somewhat rhetorically. Clark, of course, nodded. "The scientists want to know whether evolution at the hands of green meteor rocks alters the mind as well as the body."

"What do you mean?" Clark asked.

"They're looking to see if people are corrupted because of the meteor rock alterations, or if it's simply because they've been given powers and misuse them."

"Power corrupts," Clark muttered.

"Exactly," Harry said, pointing a finger at Clark. "Now, why don't we check on Evan?"

**OoOoOoOoO**

A couple of hours passed and Lana had yet to leave Evan's side and Clark tended to hover around. With nothing urgent to do outside the lab and with his best friend still working at the Talon, Harry spent the time catching up with recent developments in PLabs or MI. Any day now MI would officially own Summerholt Institute. An obscene amount of money had finally convinced their board of directors that selling to MI was the only smart choice. Their advanced technology used for mapping and exploring the human brain would soon be part of PLabs. Harry hoped they wouldn't find too many untoward experiments going on behind closed doors. A few phone calls had also been made to Jenny, to coordinate with the Cleaner team that needed to do some work on his house.

With everything Harry had to catch up with he hadn't been finished for ten minutes before one of the lab assistants tracked him down in the canteen. Fetching a bottle of water for himself he followed the young male assistant to the observation room that looked into where Evan was being tested.

Clark, Lana and Dr. Warner were waiting for him. Clark and Lana both looked on edge. Harry looked into the observation room to see Evan reading his encyclopaedia with, a young nurse beside him.

"What's up Doc?" Harry asked as he walked into the room. He received odd looks from everyone in the room. It lessened the gravity on the situation somewhat. Harry took a swig from his water bottle and shrugged, "I watched some cartoon's with Evan before he got bored and went back to his encyclopaedia."

Lana looked through the one way mirror into Evan's room, "He's really reading that?" Lana asked, surprised.

Harry nodded, "He read a hundred pages in the time it would have taken me to read ten. His memory isn't photographic, but he picks up everything he reads."

Lana looked to Dr. Warner. "What does that mean?" she asked.

"I'll get to that in a moment Miss Lang," Dr. Warner said with a nod. "Now, from what we've been able to determine that the energy that resulted in Evan's transformation is very similar to that displayed by a GME."

"That's 'Green Meteorite Evolution?'" Lana double checked.

"Yes, Miss Lang. Now, going into past research, every GME exhibits the same energy when using their ability, no matter what it is. The energy inside Evan is similar but it is still subtly different; leading us to believe that he is the first _known_ 2nd generation GME, which is remarkable in itself."

"Doctor," Clark said. "What can you tell us about Evan's aging?"

Dr. Warner nodded, "To put it simply, Evan's body is slowly but surely building up a similar type of energy which a GME emits when using their ability. That energy is building up inside without any way to be discharged, culminating in the rapid aging you witnessed." Warner had also been able to witness this event and the change Evan went though. Harry had viewed the event in Lana's mind and then been able to pass it on to Dr. Warner. Harry wasn't sure how helpful that had been, if any, but it had seemed like a good idea.

"Is there any way to stop it?" Clark asked.

"We've been able to slow the energy build up as much as we can and that has likely given him several days before he experiences another change, but we haven't been able to verify a final solution to the problem," Dr. Warner told Clark.

"What happens if you can't stop it?" Lana asked with a worried glanced through the mirror to Evan.

"Our hypothesis is that unchecked, Evan will age once more. The next time the energy peaks, I'm sorry to say that the result would likely be fatal." He paused for a second, "To Evan and everyone that's near him at the time."

Clark and Lana looked horrified. Harry's face looked as though it had set in stone, his lips set in grim line. "And there's nothing that can be done at the moment?" Harry asked. He wasn't going to let Evan die.

Dr. Warner seemed to sense that. "We have taken the largest amount of samples we can safely take from Evan for the moment. All projects have been put hold and all staff are looking into this. We'll find something." He seemed sincere.

Harry nodded, "Thank you," he told the man. Turning to Lana and Clark he asked, "Do you mind if I speak with Dr. Warner privately?"

Lana seemed to want to protest. "I'll take Lana and Evan to the cafeteria," Clark told him. He turned to Lana looking into her eyes. Harry could practically hear the message of _'It's going to be ok' _pass from Clark to Lana. As she nodded Clark placed a hand on her shoulder and led her to the door. He looked at Harry one last time before leaving.

As the door shut Harry cast several privacy wards around the room. He didn't know if Clark would try and overhear what Harry wanted to discuss in private. He knew Clark had a strict moral code and that eavesdropping was something he didn't like to do, he might feel this situation called for it.

"Alright," Harry said as he was sure the room was secure. "Tell me what you couldn't tell them."

Dr. Warner nodded, looking through the one-way mirror where Lana and Clark were collecting Evan. "The energy in his blood, while similar to that of a GME is also what could almost be described as the opposite of the energy signatures that are present in the magic of warding."

"That's how he was almost able to shatter the wards around my house from a mile away?" Harry asked, moving to stand beside the man.

"Correct. All wards release a low level frequency as you might know. The energy in Evan appears to be able to counteract that energy." He sighed, running a hand through his short receding hair. "If Evan were to release the energy he is building up in here, I would imagine it would collapse every protective spell this building has."

Harry winced. That was bad. "Well you said you've slowed down the build up rate, so we shouldn't have to worry about that for now. Is there anyway to replicate the power?" Harry asked. A spell or an item that brought down wards would be a magnificent item in the right hands, apocalyptic in the hands of others. To be able to reveal warded buildings could spell the end of the Statute of Secrecy.

"It's entirely possible," Dr. Warner agreed.

"Let's keep that information quiet, alright?" Harry said. It wasn't a question.

Warner looked at him curiously for a moment. "Of course," he agreed.

"Are there no spells or potions that can be used to help him?" Harry asked.

"We've already given him a very potent Magic Suppression potion. They are typical given to overly powerful children that are exhibiting too much accidental magic."

"And that's what's slowed down the build up rate?" Harry asked.

"Somewhat, but the potion wasn't meant to hold back the energy inside Evan. It is only a stopgap for now."

"And spells?" Harry asked.

"None that we're aware of, and creating a spell, or a potion would simply take longer than Evan has."

Harry sighed and leaned back against the one-way mirror. He took another drink of his water, "At least tell me you have _some_ form of good news for me?" Harry asked.

"Somewhat," Warner told him. "Firstly, it's my belief that your unique ability has a chance of being able to absorb the energy inside of Evan. As you haven't let us examine you yet, or test the extent of your abilities, this is mere speculation, but from what I know of your escape back in Britain, you shattered the wards around a heavily protected area?"

Harry nodded, "I built up the power I seem to have and just released it." He blinked, "You think Evan has the same ability to me?" Harry asked.

Warner shook his head, "No, but I believe he has part of it, in a sense. You talked about the wards failing at your home during his transformation, and it got me recalling a similar person with a similar ability."

"Do you think he can be trained to use this, to stop the energy build up?" Harry asked.

"I'm unsure," Warner replied. "His ability seems... fractured, possibly as a side effect of his week long gestation. From what we've observed, he appears to have no control on a conscious or subconscious level. Without you removing the energy from Evan, I don't believe Evan has any chance of surviving this."

Harry sighed heavily. _These_ were the moment that he wished for a normal life, away from the supernatural and the bizarre. He had so much power, so much money, and yet there was so little he could do for one unlucky boy. "Tell me you have some _good_ news for me?" he asked, not considering the last bit good at all.

Dr. Warner smiled, "I believe we do. As you know we've been struggling to map the biological alterations of the GME's. I believe the information we've obtained from Evan will be the key to unlocking what we're looking for. There are also phenomenal other possibilities that are findings could reveal. His cellular structure may just be one of the greatest scientific finds in decades."

"Do what you can then," Harry told Warner, "And keep me updated on possible solutions to helping Evan."

"Of course Harry," Warner promised. With a nod Harry turned to leave. The phone in the room rang. Dr. Warner answered it. "Warner," he spoke into the handset. "Mhmm... I wasn't....... This is something we can work with... Have you called upstairs to see if an ID can be tracked... Please see that it's done." He hung the phone back up.

He turned to Harry with a smile, "We have something. This is only preliminary, but it's believed that a bone marrow transplant will bring Evan's metabolism back to normal standards."

Harry frowned in though. "A stem cell transplant?" Harry asked.

Warner nodded, "You've paid attention in biology at least. Yes, I trust my team and they tell me that we have a good chance with this procedure."

"What do we need?" Harry asked.

"A biological parent."

Harry grimaced, "Something we don't have."

"Yet," Warner corrected. "We know the mother perished during Evan's birth, but evidence your friend found indicates that Evan's father escaped the car crash before the explosion."

Harry nodded. Chloe was currently in research mode and was trying to track down Evan's parents. She had quickly found a cell phone recording that had been made to the emergency services. The recording involved a panicked man shouting down the phone and a woman screaming in the background. The man had then left the woman by herself, apparently escaping moments before the phone line went dead and the explosion that revealed Evan occurred.

"I'll give Chloe a call, see if she's found anything," Harry said, moving over to the phone Warner had just hung up. He dialled Chloe's number from memory and the phone rang.

It was answered after five rings. "Chloe Sullivan," she answered. The caller display wouldn't have given her any information. Neither would she able to track it down.

"Chloe, it's Harry."

"You've pulled another one of your disappearing acts," Chloe said. He could sense her eye roll. "Should we just start calling you _Harry Houdini _from now on?"

"Who?" Harry asked in confusion before realising that it didn't matter. "Never mind for now. I need to know if you've been able to locate Evan's father yet?"

"Why?" Chloe asked. "I'm guessing you're with Lana, Clark and their Magnificent Aging Baby?"

"We're in a lab in Metropolis," Harry told her, knowing this wouldn't remain a secret for long. "The doctors here have been looking at Evan for the afternoon and they think a stem cell transplant will be able to stop the rapid aging. For that they need..."

Chloe cut him off mid speech, "A live donor, preferably a parent?" Chloe asked.

"Exactly," Harry told her. "A search is about to be started here, but you've been looking for longer than we have."

"Who's _'we'_?" Chloe asked, curiously.

"I'll tell you later. I have a few confessions I need to make tonight that I probably should have done a while ago," Harry admitted, despite wanting to keep this secret quieter a bit longer.

"_Really_?" Chloe asked, drawing out the word. He could hear how curious she was.

"Really," Harry parroted. "This situation with Evan forced my hand early than I would have liked. Now, do you have anything?" he asked again.

"Hold on, let me bring up the file," Chloe told him. He could hear the fast clicking of a computer keyboard. Harry remained silent and let her work. He shrugged at a curious looking Dr. Warner. "Right, my contact at the phone company got back to me. The cell phone call came from Karen Gallagher."

"Karen Gallagher?" Harry asked, more for Warner's benefit. "She was on your meta-human watch list, wasn't she?"

"She was the one that kept shorting out the monitors in the computer lab," Chloe confirmed.

Harry frowned. "I spoke with her two weeks. She wasn't pregnant then. I'm sure of it."

"She wasn't," Chloe confirmed. "From the rumours I've heard around school..." Harry coughed deliberately and he could sense Chloe roll her eyes. She continued, "Just because you regard all rumours are false doesn't mean there's no truth to them." She cleared her throat. "As I was saying, from the rumours I've heard, Karen was at Christina Varrano's house party last weekend and went NC-17 with some guy. No one can remember who he was."

"So her pregnancy only took a week?" Harry asked Chloe, once again done to pass the information onto Warner.

"Looks like it. Who would have thought _that_ was an ability?" Chloe asked rhetorically.

Harry sighed, he couldn't see a way to track down this mysterious guy without using an intensive Legilimancy scan on every student that went to that party. The odds of that working were severely limited due to the alcohol the party goers would have drunk.

An idea sprung to mind. "Chloe, can you get a guest list for that party?"

"I think so," Chloe told him. "Christina used E-vite to send out all her invitations, so there should be a list of everyone that RSVP'd. Give me a second." She began typing again.

"Hacking her account?" Harry asked, not bothered by the legalities or the ethical wrongness of the act.

"Trying to at least," Chloe told him, less bothered by this than he was.

"Alright, I've got the list. There are... seventy people that have RSVP'd to this. You want me to send you the list?"

"Please Chloe," Harry told her with a smile. That girl was brilliant. He knew she wanted a job at the Daily Planet when she graduated, but he'd see what he could do about getting her into a more prestigious job that required her to use her computer skills. She was too brilliant to waste as a journalist.

"And... sent," Chloe told him a minute later. Harry nodded to the computer and mouthed emailed. "What are you going to do with the list?" she eventually asked.

"We're running Evan's DNA through the record of people in Smallville. It'll help if we can reduce that list to, what, 35 guys?" Harry told her. Warner loaded the email web server and Harry punched in his details. They had the list of names a moment later. Harry nodded at Warner, silently telling him to proceed. He stepped back from the computer.

"You've been a huge help, Chloe," Harry told her. "I'd say I owed you one, but I've already lost track of the number of favours I owe you. If you're keeping score, add another to the tally."

Chloe laughed, "I'll let you know after you dish up some of your secrets to tonight. We'll see what that stories worth."

Harry laughed a bit nervously, still dreading telling his friends. Still dreading telling Lois. "Yeah, well, whatever I've kept secret doesn't matter in that regard; I still owe."

"If you say so," Chloe told him dismissively. "So when do you think you and the Happy Family will be back in Smallville?"

"The, er, happy family should be back in about ten minutes if their ride turns up," Harry told her.

There was silence on Chloe's end for a moment, "They're still in Metropolis and you expect them home in ten _minutes_?" she asked, her voice tinted with disbelief.

Harry sighed; he wondered how Chloe would take the revelation that Alicia was working for him. "I'm sure Lana will explain when she gets back," Harry told her. _'In great detail' _he added silently.

"And when do _you _get back?" Chloe asked.

Harry checked his watched. "I'll need to see what more is needed from me here, but unless something serious comes up, I'll be back in an hour. I'll explain everything then, so I'll just meet you at my house. Lois should be home by then."

"This is going to be an interesting night, isn't it?" Chloe asked. He could tell she was smiling.

Harry rolled his eyes, "I'll see you later Chloe," he told her and hung up the phone. He looked over to Warner who had been pretending that he wasn't listening to the last half of the phone call. "How long until we find Evan's father?" Harry asked.

"With the list your friend provided us, it shouldn't be long. However, dozen more tests need to be done on the samples we took from Evan. Even if we do find Evan's father in the next few minutes, nothing will need to be done until tomorrow. I suggest you go home." He paused for a moment, "You'll be telling your friends about your part in the company tonight?" he asked.

Harry nodded, feeling a headache coming. Hissing a Parcelspell he countered it. Idly he wondered if he could knick a couple of potions from around here to make this night easier. He shook his head a moment later, dismissing the thought. "I was trying to put it off as long as possible, but Evan forced my hand."

"If they truly are your friends they _will_ understand why you kept it from them," Warner advised.

"Here's hoping," Harry muttered. "You'll keep me up-to-date on anything I should know?" Harry asked.

"Of course."

"Good," Harry said as he made for the door. He turned back to Warner, "Make sure your staff gets some rest won't you? I don't want any mistakes."

"I'll make sure of it," Warner promised.

Harry nodded and left the room. He'd thought about suggesting Warner get some rest as well, but the man would have ignored him. Hoping this night would end well, he went in search for Clark, Lana and Evan.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Evan had been put to sleep in Clark's bed only a few moments after they arrived back home. After a long afternoon of tests and being poked and prodded by strange people, he was exhausted. He'd held on for as long as possible, but the moment he lay down on Clark's bed, he was out like a light.

Harry had returned an hour later, as he'd promised Chloe over the phone. Moments before he'd left the search came back on Evan's father. Tanner Sutherland was a classmate of his, and if Harry remembered correctly, worked at a small garage with his father in town. As soon as he got word from Warner, he was going to fetch Tanner, whether he liked it or not.

As for now though, he was in his lounge with Chloe, Clark, Lois and Lana, hoping they wouldn't judge him as harshly as he thought he deserved.

"What has got your panties in a knot today?" Lois asked, avoiding all sense of subtlety.

Harry was pacing slightly as he tried to think of how to explain this. "Promise you guys won't be _too _mad when I explain this to you?" he asked. His usually calm voice conveyed his worry.

"What could you have done that you think is so bad?" Lana asked, trying to be the voice of reason.

Harry laughed mirthlessly, still slowly pacing the room. "A few things," he muttered just loud enough for them to hear. He decided Lois lack of subtlety and tact would work here and just get this over with. "To start with, I've been lying to all of you since the moment I arrived here," he watched them carefully, allowing his near air-tight control of legilimancy slip. He avoided Clark's eyes and glanced around the room. Thankfully, none of his friends seem to think that he had done anything too bad. Lois clearly thought he was over-reacting.

"Oh come on, what can you have lied about?" Lois asked with a roll of her eyes. "You couldn't lie if your life depended on it." She paused, considering her words. "You avoid telling the truth like a champ, mind you." She was still thinking deeply so Harry let her continue. "So what have you been misleading me about?" she asked in a semi-rhetorical manner. "There's your weekly 'bank visits' that I stopped believing months ago, and that damn door of yours upstairs that I've all but taken an M1A1 to."

Despite the situation Harry couldn't help but smile slightly at Lois' frustration to his magically seal door upstairs. It had taken a week after she'd moved in before she tried opening the door. At first she'd used a credit card, but after the third broken card, she switched tactics. Next came lock picking which hadn't worked any better. She eventually stopped when he had caught her with a crowbar in hand, trying to force open the door. Harry had never seen her so embarrassed before or since.

"I'll show you what's on the other side soon," Harry told her. Or, he would if Jenny had done her job properly with the Cleaner team. "That's part of the secret," Harry told her. He sighed again, and Lois finally snapped.

"Just get on with it Evans!" she ordered.

Harry smiled slightly again at her manner. He sat on the only empty chair left in the room. The comforting charms did nothing to relax him. He took a deep breath. "I own Marauder Industries," Harry told them, his voice as steady as he could make it.

"I'm Mr. Marauder."

**OoOoOoOoO**


	30. Revelations

**AN:** _First, an epic thanks to everyone that reviewed! That has been my first chapter with over 100 reviews (131 at this count) and I finally surpassed 500,000 views. The interest in this story continues to surprise me._

_That said, I really hope I haven't built up this chapter too much over the last 29 chapters. I hope it won't disappoint… Please let me know._

_A huge thanks to my Beta, Warslasher. I forget to mention him at times and he's been a big help. Also, if I __**don't**__ thank him, he might ego-trip all over my reviews page again…_

_I hope this chapter lives up to expectations._

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 30 – Revelations**

_(Tuesday 24__th__ May, 2005)_

It was testament to how many secrets he kept and how oddly he acted at times that none of his friends laughed or scoffed at his words. Harry waited to see how they _would_ react. The only sound in the room was the steady ticking of the clock on the mantel piece.

"Huh," Lois said in surprise, breaking the short silence. She tilted her head slightly and examined him. "Did you learn to lie in the last, oh, ten seconds?"

Harry found himself smiling slightly. "Sorry Lois," he told her, "It's true."

"You know, that actually explains a few things," she told him, nodding to herself. Harry could sense her running through memories of him, trying to see what she'd missed.

"You?" Chloe asked. "You're the 'Reclusive Billionaire' behind MI? _You're _the Man Behind the Curtain?" Harry wasn't sure if it was shock or disbelief that Chloe was feeling; to a legilimens, they felt too similar and he'd tried his best to avoid using that brand of magic.

Harry smiled slightly and turned to Lois. "That's from the Wizard of Oz," he told her, pointing at Chloe. He'd watched that film last night and was quite pleased at himself for recognising a pop-culture reference.

"You are far too proud of yourself for knowing that," Lois told him dryly.

"You own that lab, don't you, Harry?" Lana asked. Her voice was quiet, not quite understanding.

"I don't do all that much in the grand scheme of things at MI, but Prometheus was my project and I make sure I'm up-to-date with what happens there," Harry told her with a nod.

"Wait, what lab?" Chloe asked, clearly out of the loop.

Harry looked over at Lana in surprise. "You didn't tell her?"

Lana shook her head. "It was going to be part of your big secret and I could tell how worried you were about telling us."

"_What lab?_" Chloe repeated.

"Prometheus Labs," Harry told her. "It's division of MI, although it's technically part of a separate company. Its sole purpose is the study and understanding of meta-humans. It's where Evan was taken today be examined. They have high hopes that he's going to be alright."

"Well, that's good to know, but let's get back to the point where you're a _billionaire_," Chloe told him again, impatient at being taken off the topic.

"Alright," Harry said, mentally bracing himself. "What do you want to know?" he asked the room.

"Why keep it a secret?" Lana asked, as though she couldn't comprehend an answer. "Why not just tell us?"

Harry sighed and rubbed the back of his neck uncomfortably; he'd have to answer as honestly as he could. "Truthfully? Because I hate the fact that when this goes public everyone will see me differently. One of the things I wanted most in the world was to be just _'Harry'. _I wasn't when I was growing up, I wasn't when I was at school, and when I came here I realised the same thing was going to happen again. Everyone would know who I was and there would be expectations and demands made of me. I'd have no peace and quiet and this time, it would likely last the rest of my life. So, I decided I'd keep it secret for a while, so I could have one year, just one, where I was normal and could just, make friends and have fun."

The room was once again quiet. "I can understand that," Clark told him. Harry nodded in thanks. If anyone could understand keeping a secret to maintain their preferred appearance, it was Clark.

"Why didn't you just tell us?" Chloe asked. "I mean, I suppose, looking at this from a friend's point of view, I can understand you wanting to keep something this huge a secret from the outside world, but we _have_ known you nearly a year."

Harry winced slightly at that remark. "I guess I got use to being seen as '_Just Harry_' and wanted to keep it that way." He sighed, "The plan was to go public with my identity early August, after my birthday, and tell you a week before so you got could get used to the idea, but Evan needed help and I knew I could provide it."

"So you're only telling us now because you have no choice?" Lois asked. Her tone of voice was normal, but Harry could see in her eyes that she was hurt that he hadn't shared this with her.

"It's not like that Lois," Harry told her, hoping she would believe him. "I didn't want the money I have and I don't want the fame that's going to come with this. I wanted to be normal and I wanted to keep a hold of that for as long as I could."

"Why _did_ you start the company?" Chloe asked. "If you didn't want the perks that came with it, what _do _you get out of it?"

"I get to help people who need it." He paused considering what to say. "I had no one to help me was when I was a kid and I'd be damned if I didn't help others when I had the means to do so. A lot of the work MI does is charity based and that's because that's what I want to do with the company. It was never about money."

"So every time you disappeared or just vanished..." Chloe said. He could see she was still trying to put together the pieces. He could tell she hadn't worked out everything yet as she'd yet to make the connection Harry was waiting for.

"I was either at PLabs or Marauder Tower. Zeke runs things beautifully, and well, I doubt he needs my help, but my approval _is_ still needed every now and then and I want to be an actual part of the company when I graduate."

"And _that_ explains why you always avoid talking about University," Chloe realised. "You've had something lined up for a year... not that you'd ever need to work a day in your life."

"I might not have to, but I'd go mad sitting around without something to keep my mind busy," Harry told her with a slightly smile.

"'Cause you're the poster boy for 'Sane'," Lois remarked with a slight smirk on her face.

"I'm just saying," Harry shot back, not quite sure how to take Lois' sarcastic comment.

"What else have you done that we don't know about?" Lana asked.

'_That's a broad question,' _Harry thought to himself. He still had no desire, in the foreseeable future, to tell his friends about the _rest _of his life.

"I can't really remember," he told her, despite knowing exactly what information she wanted. He'd spent a good twenty minutes at PLabs thinking about this and how it could possibly bite him in the arse.

Lois looked at him incredulously. "Come on! You remember every little detail of every little thing," she told him, showing that despite this revelation, she still knew him. "You've never let me get away with denying _anything_ you claim I've said."

"Only because you do the same to me," Harry pointed out. He looked over to Lana, "What do you think I've done?"

"Well, you had to have paid Mr. Kent's medical bill," Lana answered.

"The cheque from 'Alexander Black' was from you?" Clark asked, suddenly realising the connection. He didn't appear to know whether he should be insulted or thankful.

Harry nodded, hoping Clark wasn't too annoyed. "I had someone else sign the cheque, but yeah, that was me," Harry told him, altering the truth slightly. "The hospital looked after me when I was injured, and given my habit of getting injured, I wanted to make sure the hospital would have whatever it needed." He shrugged, "It seemed like a good idea then to pay off what the Kent's owed." He looked to Clark. "I'm sorry for not telling you," he said.

"You didn't have to do that Harry," Clark told him. "We would have managed."

Harry shrugged again, "I have no doubt of that, but as I said, I have all this money, and if I can help my friends I will." Clark still looked conflicted. "If it makes you feel any better, next time I do it, I'll let you know afterwards."

Clark smiled ever so slightly. "You wouldn't ask if it was alright, you'd just do it and admit to it afterwards?"

Harry smiled, "I had a friend like you back in England. Ron was always a bit touchy that I had money and even though he knocked me out first time I paid off something for his family, I still did it twice more. If I can help, and I think it's a good idea, I'll do it."

"It's easier to ask forgiveness than permission, Smallville," Lois told him.

"Grace Hooper?" Chloe asked her cousin. Lois nodded back.

"Thanks," Clark somewhat grudgingly admitted after shooting Lois an annoyed look that she grinned back. He frowned slightly, "Does Lex know about you?" he asked. "When I asked him to look into the medical bill being paid off, he said he'd look into it. He didn't even hint that you might have had something to do with it. I never heard back from him."

"Lex probably knows," Harry answered. "He hasn't said anything to me, but I have a short list of people that searched hard enough to find out who I am. I'm sure he knows." He looked over at Lana. "Jason and his mum know as well, by the way," he told.

"What?" Lana asked, stricken. "He didn't say anything to me. He just told me to be wary of you."

Whilst Mrs. Teague had been one of the first people to find out who he was, his sources told him that Jason had only known for a short while. It had surprised him that he hadn't mentioned anything to Lana, but then, Jason was a descendant of the Malfoy family; he obviously had his own agenda. "He's a Malfoy," Harry told her. "That's not really much of surprise."

It showed how much Lana and Jason had grown apart when she didn't argue.

"Anyway," Chloe said, obviously trying to change the tone and direction of the conversation. She looked at Harry, "I think we can safely say that you got my dad that job at Marauder Industries," she told him.

Harry smiled, "Wrong."

She frowned, caught off guard by that.

"So you're saying you _didn't _get Uncle Gabe that job then?" Lois asked with casual sarcasm. "You're saying that MI just happened to call him after LuthorCorp had him blacklisted?"

"I didn't get him the job," Harry answered truthfully. Chloe and Lois both looked ready to protest. "I got him the _interview_," Harry corrected. "He got the job himself." Sure, he may have _suggested _that Gabe Sullivan should get a job after the interview, but he'd never _ordered_ it. He smiled slightly, "I hear he's pretty popular." His smile turned into a grin, "I'm told he talks about you _all _the time."

Gabe Sullivan had actually been promoted recently, moving from the manager of one of MI's many sites around Metropolis and into Marauder Tower's top floors. Jenny, who still refused to eat lunch on her own and who had likely bothered a good number of important people about it, ate with Gabe regularly when they both had time.

Chloe just rolled her eyes, clearly used to her father's comments about her. According to Jenny he was extremely proud of his 'little girl' and had a lot of stories about her childhood. Harry was quite sure that Gabe's pride in his daughter was one of the reasons Jenny liked him so much, having never received the same thing from her father.

"He's still talking about me around the water cooler?" Chloe asked in resignation.

"More or less," Harry told her.

Chloe sighed in exasperation. "He'll never grow up," she muttered.

"He's proud of you," Harry told flatly. "There's nothing wrong with that." He didn't see what was so wrong about a parent being proud of their child. It had always been something he'd wanted from the Dursley's when he was younger and naive.

"I know that," Chloe told him. She frowned slightly, "I just wish he wouldn't _tell _everyone he ever meets."

Okay, so maybe he could understand _that_.

"Oh," Harry said, knowing he had somewhat good news to pass on that he'd read at PLabs. He looked between Clark and Chloe. "MI will officially own Summerholt Institute in a week, so that's one less group you'll need to watch your backs from." Discounting Kevin Grady and his memory erasure ability, Summerholt had targeted Chloe and Clark for a few years, even involving a plot to brainwash people into to trying to kill Chloe.

"Didn't Lex Luthor try to buy that place a dozen times?" Lois asked, looking from Harry to Chloe.

Her cousin nodded, "He tries at least once a year from what I've heard." She looked at Harry, "I'm surprised you were able to get _anything _from the majority shareholders."

Harry shrugged, "People sell anything for the right price. From what I've read, the reason Luthor Jr. had so much trouble buying the company was because the majority of the shareholders have a serious grudge against the Luthor name." The _Private _report may have also mentioned a few small details about past indiscretions that Summerholt had been part of and the damage that could do to the company should an article find its way onto the front page of the Daily Planet.

Zeke may be a good man, but MI hadn't risen quickly due to him being a Saint. He could be quite vicious when he got a glimpse of something he wanted, or apparently, something Harry wanted.

"How much of a monopoly do you actually _have_ in Metropolis now?" Chloe asked, trying to run through figures in her head.

"LuthorCorp owns a lot more than MI just now in the Metropolis area, but we're slowly working into the shadier parts of the city and turning them into useful places, as well as moving into other cities. A lot of work is being done in New York just now thanks to the partnership we have with Swann Communications." Harry told her.

"You were at Dr. Swann's funeral," Clark suddenly realised. "When Lana and I were in China and you disappeared to New York for two days..."

Harry nodded, "MI and Swann Communications were just beginning to work out the details of the partnership when he died. He was one of the few people who knew who I was and he liked the direction the company was going in. It was only fair to pay my respects to him. He sounded like a great man."

"He was," Clark told him, with quite a bit of emotion in his voice. Harry was violently reminded that Virgil Swann had been in communication with Clark for an unidentified reason. Was it because of Clark's powers, or was it something more? He sighed, deciding that he wouldn't look into it. He and Clark had something of an understanding; they both knew that the other was hiding more than they'd already revealed, but they trusted each other, and as neither wanted to talk more about their secrets, there was a silent truce between them to keep out.

"So that's how that happened?" Chloe asked, very curious. "The interview Patricia Swann gave two months ago in the _Daily Planet_ was really vague. She barely said more than it was her father's wish."

Harry was about to respond before he noticed a spark in Chloe's eye that hadn't been there seconds ago. Knowing her like he did, he knew what it was about and he'd been wondering how long it would take for her to realise.

"You _own _the Daily Planet," Chloe breathed in rapture. Lois looked at Chloe in affectionate exasperation.

"Wondered when you'd figure that out," Harry dryly remarked. She sounded so excited to know that.

"You think I could get an exclusive?" Chloe asked quickly, slipping into reporter mode. "You know I'm looking for an internship this summer and that would _really _help me."

Harry had also been expecting that. "Despite the fact that that was my original idea, and despite the fact that you're the only reporter I've ever been able to stand, I've been advised that would be a pretty bad idea, Chloe. I'm sorry."

She looked disappointed and Harry couldn't help feel guilty, despite Jenny having pointed out _exactly_ why giving Chloe the first interview would be a bad idea. Yes, with Chloe being his friend the interview would likely make his introduction to the world a bit smoother, and he knew she wouldn't write him in a negative light, but it would likely do quite a bit of damage to Chloe's career as a reporter.

"Listen, I've talked to people about this and had people talk to the _Planet_ about it. There's already a bit of negative energy there considering you were given a column last year when people who have been there for ten years are still trying to reach that point. If you were given my interview as your first, anything, when working back there, you'd have a lot of people after your blood."

He could see Chloe understood where he was going with this and decided to keep going. "The story would either raise you through the ranks at great speed, or destroy your career before it even started. I've been told unilaterally that if you want to succeed there you need to start at the bottom." He paused. He smiled slightly, "I've also been told that it would be no way for you to get on Pauline Kahn's good side. She wouldn't be impressed with you getting such a big story just because you're my friend."

Pauline Kahn was the Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Planet and a bit of a legend in the media-circuit. She had been a ruthless reporter back in the day, partnered alongside another legend, Perry White. Kahn had run the office of the Daily Planet for six years now and was known for being exceedingly hard to impress. She also took the duty upon herself to interview _everyone_ vying for a reporter job at the newspaper.

"Have you met her?" Chloe asked, her eyes alight. Kahn was also one of Chloe's heroes.

Harry shook his head. "I've not actually been inside the _Planet_ yet. A large building _filled _with reporters?" he asked. "I can only think of a few things that scare me more." Sadly for Harry, that was actually true. His friends clearly believed this as well. Lois smirked.

"Need someone to hold your hand when you eventually have to face the big bad reporters, Evans?" she asked.

"Perhaps if you offered," Harry shot back, knowing not to back down from Lois when she made a challenge.

Her grin increased, "Let me know when the time comes Evans, and we'll see if I offer to protect you."

"Duly noted," Harry remarked, wondering if, someday, he might accept her offer. He closed his eyes for a short moment, occluding the thought before it progressed any further. This was becoming a common occurrence now and it was beginning to give him migraines.

Chloe and Lana exchanged a look that was missed by both Harry and Lois. Chloe allowed herself a small smile.

"As I was saying," Harry said, "If you want a job at the _Planet_, you'll have to earn it yourself; I'm confident you'll manage and I don't want to Kahn on my bad side."

"She's only the Editor in charge of a newspaper," Lois told him, rolling her eyes at what she thought was him being overly dramatic. "What could she do that has you so eager to please her?"

Harry hid a smile at how insulted Chloe looked at Lois' initial comment. Clark had no such reservations and chuckled from his seat next to Lana. Aware that Clark was laughing at her, Lois glared at him in the way she could that made most people take a step back and promise themselves never to antagonize her again. Clark was not most people and his smile just widened.

"You want to explain what's so funny, Smallville?" Lois asked in annoyance.

Clark explained with a smile. "If looks could kill _Lois_," he said, stressing her name, doing his best not to roll his eyes at the _'Smallville' _comment. "Chloe would have set you on fire by now."

Lois glanced to her cousin and noticed the look she was receiving. "What?" Lois asked with her usual tact.

"_Only_ the Editor-in-Chief of the _Daily_ _Planet_?" Chloe ask in disbelief.

Lois rolled her eyes at her younger cousin, "Yeesh Chlo, you know what I mean. If he's," she pointed at Harry. "Running things, why worry about her?"

"Maybe because she's the reason Marauder Industries _own_ the _Planet_ in the first place?" Chloe asked sarcastically, still upset against her perceived slight on Kahn.

"What do you mean?" Lana asked with a confused frown.

Harry answered before Chloe could. "LuthorCorp had tried buying the _Planet_ numerous times, I forget the number, but the only reason they haven't been able to is because Kahn threatened to walk should that ever happen. Before we bought it Zeke was able to convince her that _all _we wanted was to make sure the newspaper reported truthfully and that she would still have complete control over the _Daily_ _Planet_." He sat back in his chair, no longer terrified of his friend's opinion of him changing. "She has a lot of powerful friends in powerful places and could make my life very difficult if I pushed too hard."

"Wow," Lana said. She looked to Chloe. "I think I can see why you respect her so much."

Chloe nodded, "She's been a legend at the _Planet_ since the moment she walked through the doors. She and Perry White were one of the best investigative teams that _Planet_ ever had."

"Wait, Perry White?" Clark asked. "_'Tractor's falling from the Sky_' Perry?"

Chloe smiled slightly, "The very same. He _was_ one of the Planet's best reporters before Luthor trashed him and he went X-Styles on us."

A quick look around the room showed that only he and Lois weren't following the conversation.

"Someone want to explain why he thinks a _tractor_ fell from the sky?" Lois asked before he could.

"Perry came to Smallville last year, investigating the meteor shower," Chloe told him. "He managed to annoy pretty much everyone in town and as he was leaving he claimed he saw the Kent tractor from the sky, right where he was standing. He got it into his head that Clark was responsible for it," Chloe finished with a mischievous smile and a glance at Clark who'd winced minutely.

Lois laughed, "What, was he blind?" she asked in disbelief. "No offence Clark, but you're the last person he should have suspect for Tractor Tossing."

Chloe smiled again. "I know," she agreed, her eyes saying differently. "But in his defence, he was really drunk." The look in her eyes told Harry that she knew _exactly_ what had happened and Harry was fairly sure Clark _had_ thrown a tractor. He definitely needed more details later.

Clark appeared to be unable to decide whether he should be pleased that Chloe was covering for him or annoyed that Lois had dismissed him so easily. He settled on smiling painfully; it was an interesting look on him.

"Um, I think we've gotten off track a bit," Lana postulated, perhaps reading the discomfort on Clark's face. "Where were we?"

"No idea," Harry told her. His eyes flickered to Lois. She was looking at him in annoyance. He sighed dramatically and Chloe smiled. Harry held out a closed fist in front of him, bringing up a finger for each of the last points they'd covered. "Summerholt, Dr. Swann, the Daily Planet, Chloe getting a job and then Kahn and White," Harry answered. He didn't need to look at Lois to know she had a self-satisfied grin on her face.

"Earlier you said you were recruiting meta-humans," Clark told him to the surprise of Chloe and Lois. "Why? Is it just to understand what they can do?"

"There are a couple of reasons," Harry told him slowly. He controlled his breathing, weighing the pro's and con's of parting with this information. He'd probably have to have his friends sign one of PLabs Secrecy Contracts soon.

"The first reasons are obvious," Harry told them. "No one really knows what they can do, or how they can do it. There are a lot of questions that need answered, but one of the most important questions is regarding the mental stability of the GME's. Why do they have a tendency to become violent? Is it because something affects their minds chemically, or does merely having power do it?"

"Do _you _think it's more than just people going mad with power?" Chloe asked.

"I'm not sure, which is exactly why the lab is looking into it. My worry is that one day a GME with more power than you've seen before decides no one can stop them and goes on a rampage. With the research we're doing, we can possibly stop a scenario like this before it happens." He paused for a second before continuing.

"We're already trying to prevent this by finding GME's and helping them to learn about their power, showing them they aren't the freaks they believe they are. With knowledge and acceptance, as well as being around people similar to them, they're extremely helpful."

"That was the argument you used when you were talking about Alicia," Lana pointed out. "Do you really believe that's true?" She sounded unsure, but Harry couldn't blame her.

"Woah woah, Alicia _Baker_?" Chloe asked quickly.

Harry rolled his eyes; he'd already explained this once today. "Alicia joined MI a few months after she disappeared and has been invaluable so far to the company," Harry said quickly. "I'll explain it later if you want, but Lana and Clark know the details, just, let me explain what I'm trying to before I lose track." He turned to Lana, "Yes, I do," he told her. He turned back to the group.

Harry watched the room carefully, wondering just how much truth to tell here. It would be dangerous for each person he spoke to, if for different reasons. Finally, he decided that he would trust them; they might even be able to help. "The other reasons are more difficult, and I would appreciate everyone keeping this to themselves," Harry told them.

"What is it?" Clark asked.

Harry sighed, "A few months ago when PLabs began keeping an eye out in the Metropolis area for people with abilities, we began to notice certain things. Occasionally, after a rumour of someone with an ability had been verified, the person of interest simply vanished. No one would ever hear from them again and no clues would be found as to why."

"You're saying someone's kidnapping meta-humans off the streets?" Lois asked. "How come no one's noticed this?"

Harry smiled grimly, "Because the majority of these people are living on the streets; more often than not because they're terrified of what they can do." He sighed deeply; this was the part he was most worried about explaining. "A month ago we'd heard rumours about a young girl living in a shelter. We had one of the GME's that work for the lab approach her, see if she wanted our help. Before he reached her a black van pulled up beside her and five heavily armed men attempted to take her."

"What?" Lana asked, shocked.

Harry nodded, "The man we'd sent to speak to her was a telepath and he was able to hold off the men long enough for her to get away. He was shot in the process, but before escaping managed to pull out two pieces of information out of one of the gunmen. What he got was '_Luthor' _and the number '_33.1,'" _Harry told them.

"You think Lex is behind this?" Clark asked. Lana looked as though she didn't want to believe the answer. She _was_ friends with the man and Harry didn't have any hard evidence against him.

"We don't know," Harry told him. "The van disappeared and we haven't seen anything similar happen since." Harry knew why the meta-human Snatch team hadn't been seen again, but he wouldn't tell them that. "But we do know that LuthorCorp is also studying meta-humans, just not a location or the name of the facility."

"But taking the fact that your telepath pulled out the name '_Luthor' _from one of the gunmen and the information than Luthor has a lab like yours, you think Lex is behind this?" Chloe asked, her mind slipping into 'investigate' mode. _This _was why he was wary of telling Chloe. She would want answers, and would search her hardest for them. If LuthorCorp was behind the kidnappings and someone realised Chloe was searching, she could be in trouble.

"That's our number one theory," Harry told her. "There are a few others, but given some of the things LuthorCorp have done in the past, it seems likely that they're behind this."

"And the other theories?" Lois asked. Harry was wary of letting Lois know about this because she hated mysteries. With Chloe investigating and Clark, who Harry knew was going to do his own investigation, Lois would be pulled in. With her ability to get into trouble, Harry knew he'd need to keep an extra eye on her.

"Government investigation, an anti meta-human group or perhaps a group of meta-humans," Harry offered. "Although, considering we've not even heard rumours about these three, LuthorCorp is still our best bet."

"Why would Lex be kidnapping meta-humans?" Lana asked.

"To study them, perhaps," Harry suggested. "Maybe try to find a way to replicate the abilities or find out how to give abilities _to _people in a controlled environment?" He paused. "This is just speculation as of now, but it's all we have until we can get some solid leads."

"Is that what _you're_ doing?" Lois asked him.

"To a lesser extent," Harry admitted. "All the GME's in the lab are there voluntarily and yes and there are a lot of people assigned to uncovering the mystery of the meteor rocks."

"Is the telepath alright?" Clark asked out of the blue.

Harry winced slightly, "He was fine. The bullet lodged in his shoulder and didn't damage anything vital. He was taken back to PLabs and healed."

"Good," Clark said.

"How many meta-humans do you have working for you?" Chloe asked.

Harry knew the exact number, as well as the details surrounding each individual, but he wasn't going to part with that information to anyone that wasn't under a fairly strict Secrets Contract. "A few," Harry told her.

"Can you tell us if there are any we know, apart from Alicia?" Lana asked.

There were a few they did know, but they would be unhappy with the majority of them. "Sorry," Harry told her. "Please remember though, that the men that attacked were well organised and dangerous, so _please_, if you find yourselves trying to investigate," He shot a knowingly look towards Chloe and Lois as he saw a couple of scenarios flash through their minds, "Do so quietly." He looked back to Lois, "And _don't_ go wondering around Luthor Manor looking for clues or try and make Luthor Jr. blurt out an answer."

"What are you looking at me for?" she asked, denying the thoughts that had run through her mind.

Harry stared at her blankly, unblinkingly, showing quite clearly that he didn't believe a word of it. She didn't seem too convinced and Harry decided he was _definitely_ going to keep an eye on her. The room lapsed into an awkward sort of silence as Harry kept his gaze on Lois. One of these days she was going to get herself seriously hurt.

The gods themselves wouldn't be able to protect whoever did.

"Well, I can't really think of anything else to ask," Lana told him, thankfully breaking the silence. "I won't mention the lab or about the kidnappings to anyone."

"And I'll be careful when I look into it," Chloe promised. "I have a few contacts that I trust to be discreet."

Harry looked at Lois again, wondering if he was going to get the promise he was looking for. "What?" she asked again, not seeing a reason to be concerned. "It's not like I go looking for trouble."

Harry clenched his left fist as soon as she'd said the words and pushed outward with his alternate ability. He allowed thunder to roar overhead. The room went quiet. "Okay," Lois said slowly with a look to the ceiling. "_That_ wasn't ominous."

Harry allowed himself the smallest of smiles. He knew better than anyone that tempting fate was a bad idea. Hopefully his theatrics might help convince Lois faster. He missed Chloe's quick, curious glance towards him. Silence graced the room once more.

"So, are we all alright?" Harry asked hopefully to the occupants of the room.

"I think so," Clark told him. Although he couldn't see any part of Clark's mind, he knew his friend had more questions than he could have asked here.

"Clark's right," Lana told him. "I mean, we already _know_ another billionaire so it's not really that much of a shock knowing that _you _are. I don't know about everyone else, but as long as you don't have any other huge secrets, I think we'll be fine." She smiled at him reassuringly.

Proving to himself just how good the control over his emotions were, Harry was able to smile back convincingly, despite feeling as though his heart had just stopped; he had _much_ bigger secrets than a simple thing like owning a company. "We'll be fine. As Lois succinctly pointed out earlier, I'm horrible at lying," Harry told her, lying through his teeth.

Clark, he noticed, saw this. He mentally sighed; that was going to be a fun conversation.

Lana checked her watch and sighed. "I've got to meet up with Jason." She looked to Clark, "Do you mind if come round and see Evan in the morning?" Lana asked. "I don't have any classes."

Clark smiled at, "I'm sure Evan would love to see you." It went unsaid that he would love to see her as well.

"Thank you Clark." She stood up and looked at Harry, "Thank you for telling us and thank you for looking after Evan." She placed what was meant to be a comforting hand on his shoulder. Would she do that if she found out more of his secrets? He didn't know. He just nodded back.

"You'll call if you find out anything more about Evan?" she asked.

"I'll keep you up-to-date," he promised.

She and Clark left, Lana having been driven to his by Clark. Chloe watched her cousin for a moment before she stood, "Well, that's my cue to leave. I'll see you both tomorrow." She vanished quickly out the door leaving Harry and Lois alone together. For the first time in quite a while, he felt uncomfortable around her.

"So," Harry said, trying to start things off and hoping she would have something to say.

"Yeah," Lois agreed, looking just as uncomfortable as he felt. "As far as uncomfortable silence's go, this one's a top percentage. I mean, it's not quite on the level of you telling me you'd been crucified, but its close." Though she sounded as she usually did around him, he could tell that she quite uncomfortable.

Remembering how uncomfortable he'd felt shortly blurting out one of his more imaginative moments at Voldemort's hands, he nodded. "It probably helps that I'm not shouting this time," Harry agreed mildly. "No power surges either."

They lapsed into silence again. Lois sighed and began to speak, "I can't work out if I'm more annoyed at you for not telling me or _me_ for not realising what you've been doing for the last _year_," she told him in frustration.

"You should be more annoyed with me," Harry told her. "As you told me before this happened, I can avoid the truth like a champ and, hell, everyone that knows me knows that there are things that you just don't ask me about. It has to be difficult trying to work out which topics are safe at times," Harry rationalised, knowing that his dramatic reactions to certain things occasionally made people hesitant around him.

"You think?" Lois asked in disbelief. "Your past is almost a _literal _minefield. Sometimes we all need to tread carefully to make sure we don't get a leg blown off."

Harry winced. Controlling his emotions in front of Lois was quite a bit harder than it was with anyone else. He didn't want to think about what that meant. "I know," he admitted. "I may have used that a couple of times to avoid revealing this to people." He ran a hand through his hair and sighed. "I'll try to avoid that from now on, and answer some questions more honestly than I usually would have."

"You'll try and tone down your drama-queen tendencies?" Lois asked with the hint of a smirk.

"Yes, Lois," Harry answered dryly. "I'll try.

"Good," Lois said, seemingly very pleased with herself for getting him to admit that. "I'm going to hold you to that and next time you throw one of your hissy fits I can remind you of that."

"Thank you, Lois. You're a good friend," he told her with an obvious roll of his eyes. He sighed. "I'm sorry Lois," he said, apologising for the first time regarding this secret. "I should have told you about this, months ago. I just, I liked being seen as _me_. I didn't want that to change."

Lois fell quiet, unsure of what to say. He could tell that she was feeling as uncomfortable as he was. "I promise I'm not about to cry," he joked, a wry grin on his face.

"Good," Lois replied in mock relief. "I am not good with crying people and I wouldn't want to put you through that." Harry's grin widened as he felt the tension in the room lift and the awkward silence vanish. He breathed out a sigh of relief. "How about I show you the locked room upstairs instead?" he asked with a small smile, pushing himself to his feet.

"I think so," Lois told him as though it should have been obvious. "You know, Chloe's gonna be mad when she realises she forgot to ask you about that." Harry hummed in agreement "It _was _a bit strange, her running off like that; I would have thought she'd have more questions for you."

"She probably wanted to see what she could find online about me or the LuthorCorp kidnappers," Harry speculated.

"You're really worried about that aren't you?" Lois asked as they walked through the house.

"They shot a man that works for me, Lois," he told her, lying ever so slightly. "They used tazer like weapons to start with but when he fought back they tried to kill him and the young girl that was with him. They were both in that situation because of me."

"And if you hadn't been there a young girl would have been kidnapped and have who knows what done to her," Lois shot back quickly in the tone that suggested he was being an idiot and should know better.

"I know _that_," Harry told her as they reached the door to the room that had held all his personal magical belongings only a few hours ago. "I just hate the fact that I got someone injured."

"Well, as the General says, '_No plan survives contact with the enemy.' _You've learned from your mistake, don't do it again," Lois told him, quoting her father.

"I guess so," Harry rationalised. "Now, how about a look inside?" he asked.

"Do the honours," Lois him, stepping back slightly to give him room.

Harry placed a hand on the doorknob and felt a small rush of magic flow through him, unsealing the door. Having called Jenny and having a Cleaner team redecorate the room, he didn't know what he was going to find. However, he'd been told by Jenny that it was sorted and she hadn't let him down yet. Without hesitation he opened the door, making sure his face was placid.

As he looked at the room he allowed himself a small smile. The room was decorated _exactly _like his office back in Marauder Tower; in fact, he suspected that the same carpet and painting charms had been used. The carpet was a deep red and the walls burgundy. A sturdy desk sat in the far corner of the room with two monitors in place and an open book. The furthest wall was lined with full bookshelves. A quick glance at the selection showed that they were mostly business related. He idly wondered which, if any, of those books had been part of the Pensieve Memories he was given last year. He walked into the room.

"Not bad, Evans," Lois whistled as she followed him. "I can see why weren't in a hurry to show this room off."

"Er, why?" Harry asked. It looked like a pretty good room.

"Because it reeks of class," she told him as though it was obvious. "And anyone who's seen the _rest _of the house would know something was up." She paused as she examined the walls. "_Although_, the posters are somewhat questionable."

Harry opened his mouth to defend his decorating skills but chose not to rise to the bait. Lois had been complaining about them since the week she'd moved in, but other than repainting her room, she made no effort to have the rest of the house redecorated, even when Harry had suggested he hire someone to do it _properly_.

He looked the framed posters that occupied the wall his desk was against and the wall the door was attached to. Although there was nothing overly special about the photo's in them – Giza Plateau and a Lion – these exact shots seemed familiar. Knowing that he'd had Jenny organise this redecoration, he realised what they meant. He snorted a laugh, "These were gifts from my assistant. She has a somewhat depraved sense of humour."

"There's an inside joke there, right?" Lois asked sceptically as she moved to examine the books. "You actually read these?" she asked as she saw the titles of the books.

"Yes, Lois, I do read them." Harry paused, "You know those Demotivational posters?" he asked, moving to inspect his office.

"I've heard of them," Lois noncommittally told him, picking up books and flicking through them.

"The prints on the walls are the pictures from two of those posters. I imagine she decided they looked better without the slogans," Harry told her. As he looked at the books on his shelf he realised that he had the knowledge of quite a few of them. If he concentrated hard enough he'd likely be able to recite the books word for word.

"So which one's which?" Lois asked, looking back to the posters, apparently done with his small library.

"Achievement," Harry told her, pointing to the picture of the Giza Plateau, "and Arrogance," he finished, pointing at the picture of the lion. "Look them up. You'd probably find they mesh well with your general outlook on life."

"Are you saying I'm demotivational?" Lois asked with a wicked grin.

Harry eyed her carefully, choosing what to say. "Maybe to Clark," he told before looking away.

"You think so?" Lois asked sounding very pleased with herself.

"You certainly try," Harry told her with a grin. "Despite the fact that he doesn't show it, I'm sure you're _really _getting to him."

Lois frowned at him, unable to tell if he was being sarcastic or not. Eventually she decided that she _must_ be getting to Clark and took Harry's comment as non-sarcastic. "Thanks, Harry," she told him as she started rummaging through his desk. She found nothing more than sparse office supplies. She quickly lost interested and sat down on his desk chair, spinning it round slightly.

"Are you done exploring now?" Harry asked her, having seen everything of the room.

"It wasn't exactly full of stuff," Lois told him with a roll of her eyes. "I was sure this room was going to be more exciting."

"I told you it wasn't," Harry said. "It's not my fault you ignored me."

"Yeah, and then you kept the room locked for a _year,_" Lois added.

Harry just shrugged, "As you told me, had you seen this you would have known something was up."

"That's a crap excuse and you know it, Harry," Lois told him, pushing herself to her feet. "You could easily have just said you wanted a nice office."

"And the books?" Harry asked, realising that his excuse of keeping this room sealed was flimsy at best.

Lois rolled her eyes for the umpteenth time. "You read books about birds and Egypt and a whole host of other pointless subjects for _fun_," she told him scathing tone. "Reading these would have at least made a bit more sense than them." She smirked at him and pushed herself to her feet, "You've always been a bit weird."

"Thank you Lois," Harry said sarcastically. "So, are we alright?" Harry asked. He wasn't sure how many times he'd asked her now, but he wanted to be sure. He opened a small legilimancy connection to her mind, seeking the truth.

"If you keep asking me that we'll have problems," she told him in mock annoyance. Seeing the look on his face she answered honestly. "We're fine," she told him. He could sense the truth in her words and relaxed fully for the first time in hours. Uncomfortable with the silence in the room Lois slugged him in the shoulder, "but only as long as you stop asking that." She turned to leave the room.

"Alright," Harry told her with a smile as he tried to leave the room.

Having unintentionally timed his exit at the same time as Lois they bumped into each other at the narrow door way. They stood closely together, with less space between them than what they were used to. Harry stilled as he looked in her eyes. He could feel her slight discomfort at standing this close to him, but underneath that he could feel a strong, warm feeling that he couldn't quite understand. It made his stomach feel uneasy, yet it wasn't an overly unpleasant feeling. His Occlumency skills slipped for a second and he felt a rush of attraction to Lois that he'd been doing his best to contain. He quickly and heavily occluded his thoughts, completely unaware of what his connection was passing to Lois.

"Er, I think I'm going to go for a run," Harry told Lois, slipping passed her. He scratched the back of his neck a bit uncomfortably. "It's been a long day and I've been locked up for most of it."

Without another word he turned around, walked to his room and shut the door.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Lois stood still, trying to control her breathing, not quite sure what had just happened. It had all happened so quickly. Leaving his mystery office they'd bumped into each other. Harry, not one for close personal contact had frozen. She'd stood still, not quite sure on the correct action to take. This close contact wasn't something that bothered her, although she'd wished it under different circumstances.

Like she'd seen dozens of times, Harry had taken a deep breath, his eyes had shone ever so slightly and his body had noticeably relaxed before her eyes. It was then that the strongest wave of desire struck her. Her heartbeat sped up so quickly, her hands had become clammy and she had an almost overwhelming desire to kiss Harry.

Seconds before her control could slip Harry had moved away from her and the feeling had lessened, only to remain as strong as it usually was. He'd made a quick excuse and the left.

As she stood, leaning heavily against the wooden door frame she wondered what had just happened and if it meant what she thought. Sure, she had known she was attracted to Harry for a while – he was tall, dark, handsome and mysterious - but the look in his eyes a moment ago was new. Did that mean... she shook her head; she was imagining things. Harry had never shown any attraction to her, nor anyone else.

With a deep and heavy breath she walked to her room, shutting the office door behind her.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Wednesday, 25__th__ May, 2005)_

Harry walked into the garage, adjusting the collar of his dark shirt. He ignored the elderly looking man in oily overalls and moved further into the building. A man a few years his senior was working on a raised up car, but he wasn't Tanner. A _bang_ to his left drew his attention. A quick glance confirmed he'd found who he was looking for. "Hey, Tanner?" Harry asked.

The young man was working on the engine of beat up looking car and didn't bother looking up. "Leave your car round back. I'll get to it," he said in a dismissive tone.

"Don't have a car," Harry told him shortly.

At that Tanner looked up. He frowned in thought, trying to work out where he knew Harry from. A slight raise of his eyebrows showed he had some idea of who Harry was. "Right," he said. "You're the guy with the MV Agusta?" he asked, talking about Harry's motorcycle. Harry nodded. "Sorry man, but all I work on is cars."

"My bike's fine, and that's not why I'm here," Harry told him.

"Oh?" Tanner asked, not all that interested. He went back to car he'd been working on.

"Yeah, you wouldn't happen to know Karen Gallagher, would you?" Harry asked him with a forced calmness, looking to see what his reaction would be. Tanner's shoulder's tightened and his neck stiffened. His work on the car stopped, but he didn't look up. "Never heard of her," he told Harry, now concentrating fully on the engine before him.

Without eye contact Harry hadn't been able to see into Tanner's mind, but he knew he had the right guy. "Well that's just not true," Harry told him. Before Tanner could reply, Harry continued. "You'll be pleased to know that your son survived the incident that killed Karen," he told him, truly hoping for a positive response. He wasn't expecting one. Not in the mood he was in this morning.

It was no surprise when he didn't get the reaction he wanted. "Look, dude, I don't have a son, and... and I don't know what you're talking about, all right? I got work to do," Tanner said to him, turning around intending on walking away

"Tanner!" Harry said in his most commanding tone.

Without conscious thought Tanner turned to face Harry. Using the eye contact Harry delved into Tanner's mind, finding memories relating to Karen Gallagher. Drunken hazy memories of Evan's conception were quickly pushed through and soon he found Karen's last moments. He watched as Tanner, overcome with the fear of what was happening, pulled over the car he was driving. He watched as Tanner left the car, hastily apologising to Karen as he felt. He watched as Tanner looked over his shoulder as the car exploded in a burst of golden energy.

Harry pulled out of Tanner's mind. "Despite the fact that Karen was only pregnant for a week and exploded, you still have a son and if he doesn't get your help he'll die," he told the young man, not having the desire to sugar coat it.

"Look," Tanner said, his temper getting the better of him. "I don't care who you are or what you've got to say, but I _don't _have a son."

"Genetically, he's your kid," Harry shot back, his patience running thin. Evan needed help quickly, not when this guy was ready. Only the knowledge that he'd been through some tough situations that needed time to process stopped him from simply grabbing Tanner and Apparating to PLabs.

"What the hell do you want me to do?" Tanner shouted, rounding on Harry. "You want me to take this kid in? I'm just out of High School. I don't know anything about taking care of a baby. I mean, I met that girl a _week _ago and she's already had the kid. That's screwed up!"

"First, you don't have to take him in; his name's Evan, by the way," Harry told him, running through a mental exercise to keep himself calm; family were supposed to look after children that needed it, not try and deny they exist. "Two, we only need you to see a couple of doctors. I'm told you wont have to stay there long, and three, due to the same… anomaly, that killed Karen, he's technically seven years old."

"The kid's seven _years _old?" Tanner asked in incredulity. Harry nodded. "You expect me to help that freak?" he asked in disbelief.

The light bulb above them shattered as Harry's eyes narrowed.

"What the hell?" Tanner exclaimed as glass rained down over his head.

No longer having the patience for Tanner, Harry used the glass as a distraction. He moved forward and clamped down hard on Tanner's left shoulder. With a _crack _that alerted the other mechanics in the building, Harry Disapparated, taking Tanner with him.

**OoOoOoOoO**

"Where the hell are we?! What just happened?" Tanner exclaimed as he arrived at PLabs. Harry, who still had his hand on the young man's shoulder, hit him with a stunning spell. He slumped forward, hitting the ground. The two security guards who stood watch over the Apparition point raised there weapons at the strange arrival; a wand and an MP5. Upon seeing that Harry had the situation at hand, they lowered their weapons.

"Let Warner know that Tanner Sutherland has graced us," Harry told them shortly. "Advise him that Tanner's not here under his own free will."

"Yes, sir," the guard with the MP5 replied, nodding.

Harry then turned and walked away, heading to the conference room he'd spoken to Clark in yesterday. He was so on edge this morning, and occluding his mind was almost painfully difficult. He needed to find somewhere to relax and try and properly clear his mind.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Jenny O'Neil)_

The cup of coffee warmed her hands as she read through the files on the table. Though she didn't completely understand the facts in front of her, she committed them to memory nonetheless. With her eidetic memory, this was an easy task. It was doubtful that Harry _would_ ask for full details, but word around PLabs was that he was overseeing the operation regarding the 2nd generation GME; Evan. From what she knew of Harry and his past, it wasn't much of a surprise to know that he was personally looking out for a kid in need. As such, she was determined to make sure everything ran smoothly.

She looked around the near empty canteen. A couple of lab assistants stood beside the espresso maker, chatting lively. They'd likely been awake for the better part of 24 hours, yet they looked as though they'd just woken up. They were probably like her, she mused. A glance at her watch confirmed she'd been awake nearly 25 hours. Of course, she'd had a nap or two during that period, but they hadn't been for long.

Since getting a phone call from Harry last night she'd been looking through all the options on what would happen to Evan should they be able to 'cure' him. Knowing that adoption would be the best way to go, as well as knowing that Evan would be a bit different than the usual child of seven years old, she'd been looking through the records of most of the MI staff in the Metropolis area, hoping that someone was looking to adopt.

Thankfully, there were a few staff members in Metropolis that did. With MI being the sole contributor to numerous orphanages and adoption agencies in the city, finding these records hadn't been too difficult. The challenge was no trying to decide which of the candidates would be most accepting of a child like Evan. Without talking to the couples of interest, this was proving difficult.

She'd also been overseeing the creation of Evan's existence. Having been conceived and born in a week and aging seven years in a day, Evan didn't exist in any government file or database. It was proving difficult so far, but she was confident that it would be resolved soon.

She glanced back at the confidential files she'd been given by the adoption agencies, looking through their details once again. Approaching footsteps broke her concentration. "Miss O'Neil?" the man asked.

He was one of the security guards that patrolled the lab. She'd also asked him to let her know when Harry arrived. "He's here?" Jenny asked him.

"Yes, ma'am," he respectfully answered; from what she knew, he'd once been military. She still felt odd being called anything other than Jenny. She was getting used to 'Miss O'Neil' but, anything else still felt odd around her.

She stood up, pushing the folders into a neat pile. Draining the last of her coffee and exhaling slightly as it burnt her throat. "Thank you," she told him.

"Ma'am?" he asked as she turned to leave the canteen.

"Yes, Mitchell?" she asked.

"Word has it that Mr. Evan's is in a rather foul mood," he warned her.

She blinked. "What happened?" Jenny asked.

"He brought Mr. Sutherland here, as he said he would," Mitchell told her. He paused, choosing his words carefully; this was his boss he was talking about. "Security reports that Mr. Sutherland arrived here by forced Apparition and Mr. Evan's immediately stunned him on arrival. He then told security that he'd brought the man here against his will."

She stared eyes-wide at Mitchell. That was extremely odd behaviour for Harry. Why would he… Unless… "Oh, no," she muttered to herself. She had a pretty good idea of what might be wrong with Harry; she was well aware of what he'd planned on telling his friends last night. "Where is he?" she asked.

"Main conference room," Mitchell answered resolutely.

Jenny thanked the man and left. She shook her head sadly as she walked towards the largest of the conference rooms. She'd been sure Harry's friends would have been able to accept what he'd kept secret from them. She would have understood, but then, she knew Harry's _entire_ story. Maybe though, hopefully, she was overreacting. From what she knew of his friends, from what he'd told her and from their official records said, they _would _have been alright after Harry told them what he _really_ did.

There was one wild card in his group of friends though, and perhaps she'd been the one who hadn't accepted who Harry told them he was. That might explain Harry's mood.

She reached the conference room quickly. The door was shut and the glass misted over, letting someone outside the room know that it was occupied. Nevertheless, she pushed open the door and took a step inside. She found Harry sitting on one of the high back leather chairs. His hands rested on the arm rests and he appeared to be in a meditative trance. Upon realising that he was trying to centre himself, she would leave him under disturbed. For now, she'd take up office in the conference room until he snapped out of his meditation.

She took another step into the room and Harry's eyes shot open, glowing unnaturally green. His right arm rose, his palm was encased in a red light and the room's temperature rose noticeably. Jenny felt her heart stop for a moment as Harry stared at her; power in his eyes. Realisation flashed across his sharp emerald eyes and his arm dropped back to his side and he closed his eyes, exhaling deeply. Her heart started beating again.

"Sorry Jen," Harry apologised in a strained voice, clearly trying to get himself under control.

She was so startled from what just happened that missed the new moniker given to her by Harry. "That's alright," she told, her voice shaken slightly.

Despite knowing him for half a year, she couldn't say she'd seen proof of who _Harry Potter_ was; a dangerous warrior who fought unbeatable odds and won; a man who had single handily taken down some of the most dangerous people on the planet. _That_ had just been her proof and she'd been ready for next time.

"That wasn't alright," Harry told her. He opened one eye and looked at her. This time they weren't glowing. "I imagine you've already heard about my entrance?" he asked, his eye closing.

"Security mentioned something, yes," Jenny told him honestly. "I take it things didn't go well with your friends last night?" she asked softly.

Both his eyes opened and looked at her in confusion. "Er, what?" he asked.

'_Apparently I'm wrong,'_ she mused. "I'd assumed your current mood had something to do with how your friends reacted last night," she confessed.

Harry closed his eyes again, still breathing deeply. "No, they took it much better than they should have. I don't think I'll have any problems with them."

"Oh," Jenny muttered, seriously confused now. "How did Lois take it?" she asked, looking for more information and taking a second guess. The way his breathing stopped, she'd guessed correctly.

"She was alright with it," Harry told her, his eyes still closed. "Thankfully," he added after a moment.

'_What happened with Lois last night?'_ Jenny asked herself. "What's going on Harry?" she flat-out asked, hoping to help.

"Nothing," Harry told her, eyes still shut.

She frowned. "You're trying to Occlude a thought?" she asked, determined to find out what was wrong with her boss and friend.

"Something like that," Harry told her.

"I know quite a bit about Occlumency Harry," Jenny said. She'd been born a natural Occlumens, which was the explanation behind her eidetic memory. "I know you're an expert at it, and if you're having problems Occluding something, there's more to it than normal."

"It's a feeling, not a thought," Harry confessed. "I've been able to secure these away before, but trying to pushed this back is just making me, well, angry."

"What's the feeling, Harry?" Jenny asked quickly, having a good idea now as to what was wrong. He didn't answer. "About Lois?" she asked.

His eyes shot open again and she gulped. It wasn't quite the death glare she'd received upon walking into the room, but it was still intense. "If I'm guessing correctly, you can't hide from those thoughts, and if you keep trying it will only get worse." She was a little worried about him.

His eyes closed again. "I've kept this in the back of mind for a while, it's just a bit harder than usual," he told her.

"What happened last night with you and Lois?" she asked once again.

Harry's eyes opened and his meditative breathing stopped. He inhaled deeply and then exhaled. The look in his eyes was a new one to her. It was… weak, almost defeated. "I was showing her the office you set up for me," he told. He smiled ever so slightly. "I recognised the pictures on the wall, by the way; very droll," he told her.

She smiled back at him; she'd put quite a bit of effort into that choice.

"Lois and I were leaving the room and we bumped into each other." He sighed, "I'd been using light legilimancy during the evening, trying to read how my friends were taking my confession. When I bumped into Lois I think I picked up on some of what she was feeling. My Occlumency controlled slipped and, well…"

"You kissed her?" Jenny asked, with a pleased smile on her face.

"No," Harry told her resolutely. "I turned and I ran, although the though was there," he admitted sounding utterly frustrated.

Jenny frowned. "If you wanted to kiss her, and, if you read her correctly, she wants to do the same to you, what stopped you?"

"Because I can't deal with those emotions," he told her, looking far older than he should. "She's my friend and that's uncomplicated. She _lives_ with me. Everything's fine how it is _now_."

"But not perfect," Jenny told him, jumping on his use of the word 'fine'.

His eyes narrowed and he appeared to be getting angry again. "The people closest to me _die_," he told her, not doubting his own words for a moment. "I will not lose any more of my friends."

Having read everything regarding Harry Potter; fiction, rumour and reality, she knew that he'd lost his closest friends. "You were in a _war_ Harry and they were soldiers, just like you were. You aren't in that war anymore," she told him, her own voice rising.

"That doesn't matter!" he hissed back at her. "Should the wrong person find out where I am, or _who _I am, the closest person to me will in mortal peril. They'll go for her to get to _me_."

She couldn't help but role her eyes, "I'm sorry to break this to you, Harry," she said sarcastically. "But Lois _is_ the closest person to you! I've known that since I started working for you."

His eyes narrowed into a glare, but she kept her chin up and stared him down, hoping he couldn't hear her heartbeat from where he sat. Thankfully, Harry broke eye contact before she did, although it had been close. "I can't deal with this," he admitted again, rubbing his forehead with the knuckles on his right hand.

"I'm afraid you're going to have to try," she told him, not all that sorry. She was quite sure a woman in his life would help him get past his numerous hang-ups. She wasn't sure of how much he'd healed from his days back in Britain, but she _knew_ there was more there; likely underlying things, like how hard he was trying to keep his feelings for Lois subdued, and the fact that he should be trying to push those feelings away.

Harry seemed quite aware of how sympathetic she really was. "Why are you here Jenny?" he asked with a shake of his head.

"Not _'Jen' _this time, huh?" she asked, her excellent memory recalling what he'd called her as she walked into the room.

"Sorry," he said. "I don't know why I called you that."

"I don't think I mind it," she admitted. "It makes me sound older, which might be useful at work." It wasn't something she'd really been called before. A few of the kids at school had called her that, but no one of any importance to her. She didn't mind any shortening of her name really, just as long as she wasn't called '_Jennifer_'; that had been her fathers name for her.

Harry smiled slightly and that lifted her spirits somewhat. Maybe he'd dropped the 'tortured hero' act for a little while and acknowledge he had feeling beyond friendship for Lois. "Alright then _Jen_, why are you here?" he asked again.

"I've been looking over details for what will happen Evan after he's been cleared by the lab," she told him, purposely using the word 'after' instead of 'if'. "I've been looking through records of MI employee's looking for those that wish to adopt, and are somewhat aware of the supernatural."

"Anything noteworthy yet?" Harry asked.

"There are a few possible matches in regards to what you're looking for, but until Evan's legal background has been created, I can't proceed any further."

"And what's the news on that?" Harry asked, leaning forward slightly. She was aware that he'd undergone a similar process when he'd moved to America.

"It's moving slowly so far, but I'm confident that it will be resolved within a week. We have Arthur Jones working on this. As I understand it, he was the one who created both of your identities."

"He was. From what I know, he was friends with Zeke's father and he's kept in touch with Zeke," Harry told her. She already knew this, but nodded anyway.

"A surname still needs to chosen for Evan," Jenny told him, running through a mental list of things to talk about. "I had initially imagined we'd use his fathers but…" Harry's eyes narrowed, likely at the mere thought of the man. "But you apparently don't think much of him…" she finished, her sentence going a different direction from where it started.

"Chose '_Gallagher_' for the Surname. That was his mothers. I don't imagine he'll see much of his father," Harry told her, almost spitting out _'father.'_

"What did he say that annoyed you so much you kidnapped him?" Jenny asked.

She was pleasantly surprised to see Harry look slightly embarrassed at her words; it meant that he was in far less of a foul mood than before. She was somewhat wary of how _fast _his mood had changed, but didn't want to look a gift-horse in the mouth at this time.

"I was already in a bad mood before I found him," Harry told with a small wince. "Nor did I explain things particularly well to him."

"Harry, what happened?" she asked again.

"He called Evan a freak, and so I grabbed him by the shoulder, Apparated here and stunned him. I think he might have broken his nose when he hit the floor, but I didn't stay long enough to check," Harry told her.

Having read the newspaper article on the trial of Vernon Dursley, she guessed the word '_freak'_ had been what had pushed Harry over the edge. "Well, we can easily remove Mr. Sutherland's memories for the day." She paused, "I don't imagine he'll be wanting custody?" she asked. The look on Harry's face suggested that he wouldn't give Evan to Mr. Sutherland, even if he asked nicely.

"Doubtful," Harry told her, the look in his eyes confirming her theory. "And remove the last week from his mind; before he met Karen."

"Remove a whole week?" Jenny asked, doubtful. Nonetheless, she made a mental note of it.

Harry nodded. "He's aware that Karen conceived and gave birth after a week, as well as what killed her. It would be best for everyone if he forgets that."

"And explaining the week long absence of memories?" Jenny asked, adding to her mental note. She agreed with him, but wanted a bit more information.

Harry smiled slightly, but it was a bit colder than she usually saw. "Give him a head wound. Nothing too serious, but enough to make a doctor believe it could cause amnesia." Hazarding a guess, the thought of inflicting harm on Mr. Sutherland was behind his smile. She wasn't sure if she should be pleased or worried; pleased, because his mood hadn't just reverted back to his usual happy state, or worried that he appeared to enjoy the thought of inflicting harm.

"Apparently," Harry continued. "Amnesia is a fairly common occurrence in Smallville."

"Noted," Jenny told him. She'd have that information passed to those that could arrange it. "His record says that he's a mechanic?" she asked, already planning out what needed to be done. Harry nodded. "Well, it shouldn't be too hard to arrange an accident in his garage."

Harry smiled again, one of those less pleasant smiles.

"I think you're enjoying that thought a little too much," Jenny told him, her tone of voice showing she disproved.

Harry sighed and ran a hand through his hair, a sure sign that he was stressed. "Sorry," he apologised. "I guess I'm just looking for a distraction."

"Is it just that thing with Lois' that's bothering you?" Jenny asked kindly.

"It's certainly not helping," he told her. "It's nothing, really," he added. "A couple of months and everything will be back to normal."

Recognising that he wouldn't speak more of the subject, she continued explaining about what would happen with Evan after this was all finished. "I have the folders of potential families here if you want to look at them now," she told him, nodding towards the folders sitting on the large conference table. "There are also details of the couples on the foster parent list. There were a surprisingly high number of people, several of them non-magical from magical families."

He summoned the folders to him with a casual ease. His ability to use magic still left her slightly in awe at times; no one used magic like he did. He expended no effort and made it look incredibly easy. It had never really bothered her that she hadn't been born with magic, but she felt the slightest tinges of jealousy as she watched Harry cast as though there was nothing more natural in the world.

He glanced through them, skimming the details. She knew he'd save time later and look through them with a critical eye. "Squibs, like you?" Harry asked with a glance in her direction.

She cringed at the term. "I wish you wouldn't call people like me _that_," she told him. Typically, he was good at remembering not to use the insulting designations that the European Ministries used to describe people _inferior _to them. Although people like her were pushed aside by society, they weren't given an insulting name. In America they were just classed as non-magical, but that label wasn't specific enough in this lab.

"Sorry," Harry quickly apologised, wincing as he realised his mistake. He looked back at the folders in his hand. "These look good so far," Harry told her as he glanced up. "Is there anything immediate that I should be looking at?" he asked.

"Nothing," Jenny assured him. "From what I was told after I got word that you'd volunteered to retrieve Mr. Sutherland, all we can do now is wait and see if his bone marrow _is_ compatible with Evan's. Then Evan can be brought it."

Harry nodded and pushed himself to his feet. "How about getting some breakfast then?" he asked, offering her a hand up.

Despite not needing it, she graciously took a hold of it and he easily pulled her to her feet. "I could spare a little time," she told him with a smile. "You do know that I haven't dropped this 'Lois' business."

"I wish you would," Harry told her, his expression darkening again as he opened the conference room door.

"I am your assistant, and for the amount you pay me, I'll be assisting you with this," she told stubbornly as she walked through the open door.

"Why do I always find the _stubborn_ girls?" he muttered to himself so quietly that she nearly missed it. Jenny hid a smile. He followed her down the highly lit hallway. "Alright," he sighed. "What do I have to say before you'll drop this?"

"Promise me that you're going to stop deny what you feel about her," Jenny told him. If there were two things she knew about him, from knowing him and from the facts that she'd read, he was honourable and he kept his word. A promise from him was as good as a contract signed in blood.

As they walked down the corridor he looked ahead, mulishly remaining silent. He walked stiffly, his shoulders high and held back, as though a strong posture would strengthen him mentally. She gave him his moment in silence, watching him. From the look in his eyes she could see that he was internally fighting with himself. They were nearly at the canteen when she saw his posture noticeably shift. "Alright," he told her. A piercing glance from her got him to say the words she was looking for. "I promise."

She nodded, glad that he'd said it. "How long have you realised you felt like this?" she asked. _She'd_ been aware that Harry saw something more in Lois than just a friend since the second month she'd worked for him. Every time he came to Marauder Tower, or whenever they had lunch, he always had a story about her; about something she'd done during that week, or something she'd said. There had always been a _look _in his eye that said more than his words had.

"Maybe a month?" Harry told her uncertainly. "I've tried to Occlude it so much that I really can't remember." She believed him. He'd tried blocking a feeling so hard that it had likely caused him minor damage. People weren't meant to deny themselves certain things, and Harry had been doing just that.

"Are you going to tell her?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

"No. I can accept that I feel something more for her," The very words sounded like they caused him pain. "But that's _all_."

The subject was dropped but certainly not forgotten.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Late afternoon)_

Harry stood at the back of the observation room as Clark and Lana watched as a team of doctors and nurses worked on Evan. The procedure had only been underway for roughly half an hour, and there was still around 6 hours left before it was completed. Even then, Evan still had a lot to go through. From what the doctors had told him, Evan had a hard recovery ahead of him. It would of course be far more difficult had there not been several mediwizards on staff, but Evan was still young. As it stood now, Evan would likely be spending quite a lot of time down here and in the last few hours a room had been set up for him in the lab.

Excusing himself from the observation room, he noticed that Clark and Lana were holding hands. They weren't together yet, but Chloe was sure that they would be within the next few months. It made him wonder for the hundredth time that day what it would be like if he and Lois…

He pushed away the though, but not Occluding it. Jenny had been right; he had been doing damage to himself trying to hold back those thoughts and he knew himself well enough to know that he would have continued trying to suppress those feelings. It had been Hermione and then Ginny and Neville that would have forced him to admit what he was feeling back when he was in Britain, but without them around no one had known enough about him to step him.

Apparently Jenny knew him better than he thought. She'd quickly snapped him out his mood, leaving the impression that she wasn't done yet.

With nothing to do for the next few hours he headed towards the labs Apparition Point. A few hours of flying in his animagus form would clear his head. Things were so much simpler as a falcon. He neared the Apparition area when he heard footsteps following behind him. He stopped and waited for whoever it was. As Jenny had left a few hours ago, it was likely Dr. Warner. He was somewhat surprised to see Clark.

"Is something wrong?" Harry asked. Clark had given the impression that he was staying by Evan's surgery room for as long as he could stand up.

"No," Clark said. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Harry nodded, having known this conversation was coming since yesterday. It would be simple enough and a conversation he would likely have to get used to having. Harry and Clark walked the short distance to the same conference room they'd used yesterday. They took the same seats as they had then and Harry waved at Clark to start.

"You know, Lois was wrong about you," Clark told him, a curious look on his face.

Harry grinned, seeing no reason to be nervous or worried about this conversation. "Lois is wrong about a lot of things," he told him. Clark smiled. "What, _specifically_, is she wrong about today?" He already knew, but he'd give Clark his moment.

"She said you couldn't lie to save your life," Clark recounted.

Harry nodded. "When you have a secret like we do, we have no choice," he told Clark. "It's just something we have to do, although I try and avoid it. That's why Lois doesn't think I can lie. I find double-speak works better. I only told two lies last night, and both of them were to keep my abilities quiet."

"Which ones?" Clark asked curiously. He looked unsure if he was allowed to ask the question. If he'd asked accusingly, Harry wouldn't have answered, but there was no distrust there.

"That I had no more groundbreaking secrets, and the story about the attempted kidnapping," Harry told him.

"You made it up?" Clark asked, quite surprised with a hint of anger.

Harry narrowed his eyes at Clark. He hoped Clark would grow out of his '_accuse first, find facts later' _approach; _he_ had. "You're smarter than that Clark," Harry told him.

Realisation flashed across his face. "You were the telepath."

Harry vividly remembered that day. It had been a wake up call, similar to the one he'd had after Lana, Lois and Chloe had been possessed.

_(Flashback)_

_In his falcon form Harry rested on the top of a lamppost as he watched the young teenage blonde girl idly kick a can across the pavement. Her hands were deep into the pockets of her slightly oversized hoody and her head was hung low. Although she wasn't in a __**bad**__ area of Metropolis, it still wasn't safe for someone to be wandering around this city as the sun was setting. She certainly didn't appear to be in any hurry getting home._

_But then, maybe this girl had nothing to worry about._

_A recent report from the surveillance section of PLabs, Solaris, a division of MI even more secret and illegal than Prometheus Labs,, had provided information on the girl he was currently watching from a far. It was unknown as of yet, but certain pieces of information about her past led them to believe that she was a meta-human. Harry had volunteered to speak with her, and see if she wanted a part in the world he seemed to be creating._

_As she rounded a corner he took to the sky again, leisurely soaring above her. His keen eyes caught every movement and gesture. Her long dirty blonde hair was streaked the purple dye. She'd either been going for a messy look when she'd dyed her hair or it had almost all washed out._

_The young girl, Corrine Fletcher, had had a lacklustre life so far. Her single mother had died of a drug overdose when the girl was seven years old and since then she'd bounced from foster home to foster home, never having stayed at one for more than 6 months. She was a freshman at Metropolis High and had an attendance record of about 40 percent. Most people saw a delinquent of a girl; nothing but trouble. Harry saw a lonely young girl and he was determined to help._

_The can she was kicking with her large black military design boots slipped under a parked car. She stopped for a moment, perhaps considering whether to retrieve it or not. She had been kicking it now for about a mile. She licked her lips as she stared at the bottom of the car before rolling her eyes, shaking her head and continuing down the street._

_Harry swooped ahead, landing on another lamppost ahead of the girl. The reports had no idea on what her ability was, but an account from her last foster home stated that she had attacked her foster father, throwing him through a window with a burst of light. As the girl was about 5'2 and her foster father 6'3, it was likely a meta-human ability. The same reports made vague mention that he had been abusive towards her. Having spent a lot of his own money trying to look after the children of Metropolis, Harry would make sure the man got what was coming to him._

_She looked up at him as he landed and stared at him oddly. While a Peregrine falcon in a city wasn't an odd thing, there were rumours about his animagus form. As he tended to act how he wanted, instead of how a falcon usually acted, he'd drawn attention to himself, and as such had been named 'Horus' by the locals of Smallville. People were aware this falcon frequently visited Metropolis as well._

_Corrine continued walking, stopping just below his lamppost. Her eyes surveyed him, perhaps wondering if this was the same falcon that occasionally made it into the Metropolis Inquisitor, the main tabloid newspaper of the city. She continued looking at him, still watching him curiously. His form was distinct, littered with scars like his normal body was, so it was easy for anyone to tell him apart from another falcon. Although it was getting dark, she appeared to be trying._

_A curious look crossed her face and she held out her left arm. She whistled three times, trying to see if he would fly to her. He had never done so before, but he could see the look in her eyes, one wishing for companionship. Having had Hedwig as a near constant companion during his long, long stays at the Dursley's, he understood that need. Pushing himself off the lamppost he flew towards her and gently landed on her arm, just like his snowy owl had once done with him. He was very careful not to pierce her skin with his razor sharp talons._

"_There's no damn way that actually worked," she muttered to herself as she stared at him in near disbelief. He tilted his head and watched her closely. She gently waved her arm up and down, feeling his weight as it rested on her._

_He made a single, short cry and she stopped her actions. "Sorry," she said. She looked a bit annoyed at herself. "I'm talking to a damn bird," she muttered, glaring at him as those it was his fault she did so._

_She sighed and continued talking. "You're that same bird the papers and the nutcases talk about, aren't you?"_

_He cried once in agreement and she seemed to understand that._

"_I guess I'm one of those nutcases now, aren't I?" she asked, slowly taking a seat at the curb. The streets lamps turned on, startling her slightly. As she turned her head her hair moved, giving Harry a glimpse of her earrings. The light hit the green gems in her ears and he realised that they weren't glass or emeralds, but meteor rocks. That definitely increased the likely hood that she was a meta-human._

"_You like them?" she asked, noticing his interested look. "I took them from one of my foster homes," she confided. "I wasn't there long, but I thought they were good people, you know?" She snorted. "Yeah, and then __**she **__gets pregnant and there's no room for me anymore." She shrugged, "I figured she wouldn't miss them. Don't know if they're real or not, but who cares, right?"_

_Harry let out another cry, trying to convey his sympathies to her through his limited vocal capabilities._

"_Thanks," she muttered, scuffing the soles her boots on the street. She reached over with her off-arm and rubbed the feathers on his chest. His mind went blank at the new and very comforting sensation. It took a moment for him to snap out of it. He realised why Hedwig had quite frequently pestered him into doing the same thing to her._

"_Bet you've been in loads of fights," she commented, looking at the scars along his small body. Most of them were hidden under a layer of feathers, but the one stretching across his eye, as well as the lightning bolt scar, were very clear._

"_I've been in a few fights," she told him. "Most people blame me for it because I'm a foster kid, but it's all crap. The bitches at school have no damn idea what really life is like and think they're __**so **__special." She sighed deeply and he could almost feel her loneliness._

"_It's stupid to get annoyed about it but..."_

_She was cut off a black van screeched to a stop in front of her. She looked up sharply as the side door of the van was violently slammed open. Four men in black special-ops uniforms burst out the side, semi-automatic rifles in hand. With a feeling of dread, Harry realised what was happening and how meta-humans in the city were just vanishing. Before he could transform Corrine stood, throwing her right arm up violently, launching him into the air. As quick as a flash she stood, banked right and bolted down the nearest alley, the armed men right behind her._

_Startled and disoriented from his unexpected launch, it took Harry a couple of seconds to reach controlled flight once more. Flapping his wings hard, he soared down the alley after the hunting party._

_The armed men were faster than Corinne and catching her quickly. Mid run one of the men raised their weapon and fired at the blonde girl. Harry screeched out a warning and the girl dodged left as the man fired. Instead of the __**bang **__he expected to hear, there was a pop and a fizzle as a dart-like electrode shot from the end of the gun. It missed Corinne by inches, but she looked back and tripped in the process, skidding along the ground before coming to a stop. Her ankle was bent at an unnatural angle and she cried out in pain. The men stopped running and Harry burst into action._

_Still airborne he transformed, twistingly sharply as he dropped. Using one hand he used magic to slow his drop slightly and with the other he fired a stunner at the man with the raised weapon, he landed in a crouched position. Clearly the men were highly trained and used to this sort of scenario, as the man ducked swiftly, avoiding the stunning spell by inches, bringing his gun up again._

"_Get some cover!" Harry order to the blonde who was lying on the ground in front of him. Having seen him just transform from his falcon form, she was in a state of shock. Harry's warning seemed to snap her out of it. She scrambled to cover as Harry consecutively cast a shield spell and two more stunners. His shield rippled slightly as the electrodes struck it. He needed answers from these men and he couldn't afford to kill them. The men skilfully avoided his stunners and he switched tactics._

_Ducking under the fire of the taser rifles he transfigured a nearby trash can into Prongs. The great stag managed to gore one of the closest members before it was brought down in a hail of bullets. A stunner caught another man unaware and dropped him to the ground. The other men sought cover and returned fire._

_He hastily raised two shields as a wave of bullets was fired at him and Corinne. Something was thrown his way, but he paid it no attention. Just now, he needed both hands to shield himself and the girl. He needed to wait until they had to reload or stop firing._

_The thrown object hit is left foot and as he looked down he realised what it was. Cancelling the shield in front of him he vanished the thrown flashbang. Blinding pain cut through his shoulder and he stumbled back, knowing he'd been shot. Thee men stopped firing as he fell back against the alley wall._

_To Harry, the next moment appeared to happen in slow motion. He heard Corrine scream and looked her way only to see her right hand completed encased in green energy. He felt the hairs on his neck stand on end and he had no doubt as to what was going to happen. He turned towards the armed men who were raising weapons towards her. They weren't fast enough. A devastating pulse rippled from her hand, tearing up the alley before her. He had just enough time to look at one of the gunmen and push hard with legilimancy. He caught a word and a number before they, and a good portion of the alley, was obliterated._

_Luthor_

_33.1_

_Seeing that the gunmen weren't going to be a problem again he dropped the shield he was casting to protect her and he placed his hand against his shoulder. From what he could tell in the stream of blood, he'd been shot three times. "Bloody fantastic," Harry muttered through gritted teeth. He put pressure on the wound, barely keeping in a scream._

_Having been shot before and learning the hard way not to try and heal the wound himself, he was considering how to get his phone from his pocket when he noticed Corrine crawl over to where he was._

"_They shot you," she breathed out, looking on the edge of panic._

"_I'm fine," Harry told her reassuringly. "This isn't the first time I've been shot." Though true, this was worse than last time. Last time he'd only been grazed and had been able to keep fighting afterwards. "Are you alright?" Harry asked._

"_Never better," she told him sarcastically. "Do you have a phone? You need to go to a hospital."_

"_Nah, I've got a better idea," Harry told. "Think you can help me to my feet?" Harry asked, noticing the angle her ankle was sitting it. It was clearly broken._

_She looked trouble. "You shouldn't move when you've been shot. You should stay here until I can get an ambulance here."_

"_Trust me," Harry told her with a kind smile. Pulling his blood stained hand away from his shoulder he used it to push himself to his feet. He clenched his teeth together as he struggled to stand up. Unable to get up herself, Corrine was unable to help. After a short struggle Harry got to his feet, swaying slightly as he began to feel dizzy. Despite that, he wasn't worried. He'd survived far worse._

"_I'm going to need you grab a hold of my hand and stand up," Harry told her. Unfortunately, all he had to offer was his blood soaked hand. "Everything's going to be alright," Harry told her. "I promise you."_

_Slowly, reluctantly, she took a hold of his hand. He pulled her to her feet. She winced slightly as the action aggravated her ankle "Put and arm around my shoulder, this is going to be a little uncomfortable." Harry closed his eyes and concentrated hard on his destination. With a __**crack **__they vanished._

_Thankfully, he arrived at the lab and remained on his feet. Upon seeing an injured Harry at the Apparition point, the security guard immediately set off the medical alarm, alerting the lab personnel that they were required at the arrival point. The other guard quickly moved forward and helped steady Harry._

"_She's likely got a broken ankle," Harry told the man, leaning against the Apparition room wall. "You're going to want to send a Cleaner team to an alley just off 74__th__ St. There should be a black van that needs removed and the street needs repaired. I want all the contents of that van analysed immediately," he ordered. The adrenalin was beginning to wear of and he wasn't happy about what had just happened._

"_What happened to you, sir?" the man asked._

"_Just a couple of bullets," Harry told him, unconcerned. "I've had worse."_

_That fight hadn't gone anything like he'd practiced before. He still frequently trained at Basement, under Marauder Tower, but those simulations were with multiple wizard-like golems, not a Special Forces team with non-magical weapons. He'd handled it poorly and was once again surprised that he'd even survived this long into his life. Wizard shielded and dodged, they didn't use nearby items as cover. Now that he was thinking about it, he could think of two dozen different things he could have done in order to win that fight faster, and without getting shot._

"_Go!" he ordered to the man still holding him up. He didn't want whoever was in charge of that group taking the van away. The words 'Luthor' and '33.1' weren't enough._

_The security guard nodded, heading away from Harry at a run._

_Corrine didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Her adrenalin had officially worn off and she slipping into shock. She stood, leaning into Harry, a glazed expression on her face. He could feel her small body trembling. Harry found he was far more worried about her than he was about himself._

_A second later the medical team arrived. "Mr. Evans, what happened?" one of the doctors asked._

"_Just a bullet wound," Harry told the man. He nodded to the blonde girl that was still attached to him. "She needs a calming draught and something to fix her ankle."_

"_Mr. Evans, you've been shot, we need to..." the doctor told him. A glare made him change his mind. He looked to one of the three nurses that had followed him. They had a gurney with them. "Sam, make sure she's looked after," he ordered a brunette nurse in her late twenties. She nodded and was able to pull the scared blonde off Harry. She was loaded onto the gurney and pushed away._

"_Can you walk, Mr. Evans?" the doctor asked._

"_Yeah, but it might help with a shoulder to lean on," Harry told the man. As quickly as they could, Harry was led to the treatment room._

_(End Flashback) _

"I was, and I'm sure you can understand why I edited that part out of my story," Harry told him.

"When did this happen?" Clark asked with a confused frown.

"Around three months ago," Harry told him. "A week after Lois' sister left."

"You weren't in the hospital at all then. How did you hide a bullet wound?" he asked.

"Clark, there are a lot of meta-humans here that work for MI." Harry smiled slightly. "How do you think I got healed?"

Clark's eyes widened in understanding, "Someone here can heal people?" he asked.

Harry nodded. What he was telling Clark wasn't true, but it wasn't a lie either. Yes, there was a GME at PLabs that could heal, but he was barely beyond healing minor bone fractures. A mediwitch had healed him, but he let Clark come to his own conclusion as to what happened. Harry's smile was due to him having just explained to Clark that he preferred double-talk over lies. It was too easy to do at times.

"Now, why don't you go and find Lana," Harry suggested, getting to his feet. "I've got a few things to do."

"Alright," Clark agreed. They left the conference room. "You didn't say how Evan's father reacted to the all this," Clark commented.

Harry bit his tongue. "Ask me that again when Evan's in the clear, alright?" he suggested to Clark.

Clark looked at him carefully, but nodded nevertheless.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Evening – Late)_

Having spent the rest of the afternoon and the better part of the early evening flying around Metropolis in his Horus form, Harry was feeling far more relaxed than he'd felt in a few days. He truly belonged in the air, and after hours of flight and falcon aerobatics, he felt as though all was right with the world. It wouldn't last long, but for now, he felt good.

Now, he was relaxing at home, sitting in a branch of the largest tree on his property, something he hadn't done in years. It was an old oak tree that Lana had told him she'd once had her dad attached a tire swing to. He'd landed on it after his flight and carefully transformed back into his normal form. He had quite a good view of Smallville from here and the weather was still warm. The sun set slowly.

His phone ringing disturbed him. Keeping his balance and making sure he didn't fall out of the tree, he removed his phone from his pocket. Placing it on his lap he answered the call and turned on the speakerphone. "Harry Evans," he answered.

"Harry, its Doctor Warner," the voice on his phone replied.

"You're calling about Evan?" Harry asked. A wandless _Tempus _charm showed that Evan's surgery had ended almost two hours ago. He'd been so lost in his own world that he hadn't realised how much time had passed.

"I am, and though it's preliminary, I believe the procedure was a success."

"There's been a drop in his power build up?" Harry asked with a growing smile.

"The energy inside him seems to be levelling off. We can't say as of now if he the energy will vanish on its own, but for now, he's in the clear, or at the very least, has a lot more time left than he did this morning."

"That's fantastic, Joe," Harry told the doctor, actually using the man's first name, something he'd always found difficult. His calm feeling had reached a point of elation now. For such a bad start to the day, for such a stressful two days, this day was ending on a high.

"There's more," Warner told him. Harry could hear the excitement in his voice. "With the findings we've made from studying Evan's unique cellular structure, we could enhance medical science by decades, and in some cases, centuries; the findings so far are incredible."

"What are we doing with the findings?" Harry asked sitting forward slightly, closer to the phone. "Is this going to remaining private or are we releasing the information?" He already knew what he wanted to do, as well as what the MI board of directors wanted. They were good, smart people, and while he understood that it was their job to think long term and protect the company, he occasionally didn't agree with their methods. This was likely going to be one of those times.

"I've already spoken with Zeke about this," Warner told him. "He's called a meeting the board and promised that he'd talk to you about the decision once he has the board's opinion."

"He called an emergency meeting?" Harry asked, somewhat surprised.

Warner chuckled, "I believe he was worried that you would just order the release of the findings without prior approval." He paused for a moment. "If MI does go public with these findings, it's best it's done quickly. I'll state again, but some of the findings are incredible."

"I imagine I'll hear from him soon," Harry mused. "Thank you for the call," Harry told the man. He hung up the phone and waited for Zeke to call.

**OoOoOoOoO**

It was an hour later that he heard from Zeke, just not in the manner he was expecting. "Zeke?" Harry asked as he saw the man walk past his house towards his tree. Swinging a leg over the branch he was sitting on, he slipped out of the tree, dropping 20ft and using magic to steady his fall. "What are you doing here?" he asked. This was the first time he'd ever actually seen Zeke in Smallville.

Zeke looked at where Harry had been in the tree moments ago and shook his head, obviously deciding not to ask. "I thought it was time I paid a visit to this town," Zeke told him.

"The real reason, Zeke?" Harry asked with a smile as he leant against his tree.

Zeke chuckled. "Rumour has it that you've been on a short-fuse today and I wanted to make sure everything was alright."

Harry rolled his eyes good naturedly, not completely buying it. "You're here to stop me from stealing company secrets and giving them to the press?" Harry asked. "Aren't you?"

Zeke smiled in a way that confirmed Harry's suspicion. "The thought crossed the boards mind," Zeke told him. "But it might have been in jest."

"What's been decided about the Evans findings?" Harry asked, cutting to the heart of the matter.

"The board were undecided, although there's little surprise there," Zeke told him with a roll of his eyes. "They're in three separate minds about what they should do."

"Three?" Harry asked with a frown. "One group obviously wants to keep all the information private. The other wants to release it to the public?"

Zeke nodded. "The latter is only one person, but the board know you'll fight them on keeping the information to ourselves."

"Was anything settled on?" Harry asked.

"What the board will agree with is partially releasing the information," Zeke told him. "Several things will be kept in the company, but the information that could radically improve what we can and can't cure, will be released to every research facility in the world."

Harry sighed. "That's as good as I'm going to get, isn't it?" he asked.

"It's a lot better than what was originally suggested and you know that we sometimes need to put money ahead of everything else. Without it, you'll eventually run out, and you can't help the world then," Zeke told him.

Harry considered that he still had his magic and _could_ help the world without a penny to his name, but he said nothing. "I guess that's that then."

"I'll let the board know you aren't going to fight them on this, and then we can get the information out to the world. We should be able to do so in a week if the calculations are correct."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "You've already got people working on this, don't you?"

Zeke shrugged slightly. "Though you'd prefer to put out all the information, you're smart enough to know that wouldn't happen. I was confident that you'd accept the middle ground."

Harry just hummed in agreement. "Let's get this started then," he said.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Lois returned from her shift at the Talon a little after closing time. He hadn't seen her or spoken to her since he'd bolted during their conversation last night. It was also the first time he'd seen her since he'd stopped denying what his mind and perhaps his heart, had been telling him for a while.

Lois practically stormed through the front door. "You know what really annoys me?" she asked rhetorically as she walked into the kitchen, immediately going to the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of beer, twisted off the top and downed half the contents in a mouthful.

"Good evening Lois," Harry greeted dryly. No longer having to hide his ownership of MI, he was reading through several files from PLabs at the kitchen table. Evan was still improving.

"People who have to stay drinking their coffee until the _last_ minute," Lois continued as though he'd not spoken. "There I am trying to clear up the mess _they've_ made, tidying up for tomorrow and they're still there drinking their coffee and reading newspapers like its no bother to me!"

"How was your day Lois?" Harry asked, suppressing a smile.

She shot him a sour look. "Don't you start Evans," Lois told him.

Harry wasn't concerned, Lois was usually like this. It was a relief to see her acting normal after everything that had happened yesterday. As she ranted about her day and the unbecoming people of Smallville, Smallville and of course, Clark, he reflected that she was quite beautiful, especially worked up as she was now. There was an intense fire in her eyes that...

He allowed his thoughts to trail off as he watched her with a half smile. "How much coffee have you actually had?" Harry asked as her rant dropped down a peg.

"Only a few cups," she told him dismissively, now looking for food.

He glanced at the clock on the oven display. "Lois, you're all work up and it's nearly ten o'clock." He rolled his eyes. "You're going to be up late, and then you're going to be cranky in the morning." He deliberately tried his hardest to sound sincere. He idly wondered if he'd need to cast a sleeping spell on her tonight.

The look she gave him would have made lesser men flee. He merely leaned back in chair and stared into her eyes, an easy smile on his face. The look told him that Lois was thinking of how many different ways she could make him suffer, but he found he enjoyed the look. It was passionate.

He sighed, knowing that nothing could ever come of it. He was damaged and a wanted man. Even though Jenny had made the point that even if Lois was nothing more than his friend, she was still the person closest to him and hence a target, he couldn't bring himself to change that; in either direction. He wasn't going to be responsible for his friend's deaths this time, but he wasn't going to let fear push them aside.

"How about we put a movie on and see if we can get you to calm down a bit?" Harry asked.

She rolled her eyes again, finishing off her bottle of water. "I'm fine," she told him. "Did anything get sorted out with the kid today?" she asked.

Harry nodded, "He's doing alright and the doctors have high hopes for him."

"Good," Lois said in relief. "Depressed Clark is such a downer."

Harry laughed; knowing that's Lois' cavalier comment was nothing beyond her doing her best not to admit that she was actually friends with Clark. "Yes," he agreed sarcastically. "I'm sure Evan is equally pleased that he isn't going to be depressing Clark."

"So listen," Harry said before Lois could respond. "I'm sorry about running out last night. The stress of the last few days really got to me and I just need some time to calm down."

"Oh," Lois said, somewhat surprised at the apology. "It's cool," she assured him with a shrug of her shoulders, slightly uncomfortable but doing her best to hide it. "It had been a long day and you know how I get after those." She had what was meant to be a reassuring smile on her face, but Harry was one of the few people that could read past her when she tried to pretend something wasn't bothering her. He didn't mention it.

"Good," Harry said, now eager to change the subject. At times like this he hated that he could read Lois like he could. He could see the hurt in her eyes due to him brushing away whatever it was that had happened yesterday. "How about we put on a film then? I'll even let you choose it."

Lois grinned, pleased to be onto another subject. "Like I'd let _you _pick a film."

He watched her walk through the lounge and sighed once again. Though the Occlumency induced headache was gone, there felt as though there was a heavy weight on his chest now. Nonetheless, it was an improvement and he'd just have to get used to it.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _How was the first introduction to the Corrine/Vi character? Would you want to read more and see the character developed some? The reaction to my main OC, 'Jenny' has been typically positive, and no one has really complained about Zeke. What do you lot think about me adding a GME OC? Let me know._


	31. Choice

**AN:** _Thanks to Warslasher for Beta-reading this._

_Review please!_

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 31 – Choice**

_(Neville Longbottom)_

Neville stood before the extravagant black marble headstone in silence. The usually deserted graveyard of Godric's Hollow was buzzing with people; mainly tourists and photographers. It was a disgusting sight and he was only minutes away from showing the gawkers his displeasure.

The only upside was that due to his relative fame, they were now only watching from a distance, not wishing to disturb him as he mourned his friend.

The funeral for Harry Potter had been twenty four hours ago and it had gone exactly as Neville expected it to; the near complete opposite of what Harry had wanted. In his sparse will, he'd passed on some possessions, given the surviving Weasley's a healthy sum of money and stated his funeral preference. It had come to no one's surprise that Harry had wanted a quiet, low key ceremony. He had asked that he be cremated and his ashes spread so that no rising Dark Lord could use them in some perverse ritual. His last wish was to be buried beside his parents in Godric's Hollow, where generations of Potter's had been laid to rest.

To no one's surprise, Harry was only given one out of three of his suggestions. The Ministry of Magic had immediately vetoed the idea of a small ceremony. _'People should be allowed to pay their respects to their hero!' _an indignant Ministry official had protested when this suggestion had been given.

They had also prohibited the cremation of Harry's body. _'It's a disturbing ritual used by barbaric muggles!' _another Ministry employee had told them in disgust. Not even a recap of the story on how Voldemort was resurrected convinced the Ministry that it was something that _should_ be done.

The one thing that the _Order of Defence_ had been able to arrange was that Harry be buried at his choice location. The original idea had been to place Harry in a tomb beside Albus Dumbledore on the grounds of Hogwarts. Only after reciting archaic laws had they been able to place Harry's body where he'd asked.

Even the Ministry of Magic wouldn't deny an '_old family_' their chosen burial ground.

That hadn't stopped them from building a monument to Harry at Hogwarts though. It was nearly 12ft tall and struck in a heroic pose. Harry would have been horrified to see it.

The actually funeral had been attended by people from all around the world, a good deal of them wealthy and important. It had actually been a struggle to get Harry's close friends seated close to the coffin. The Press had been invited and turned up in droves. Those in power who wanted to speak about how they were friends with Harry and how they loved him like a son/brother, wanted the rest of the world to know this as well. Most had never even spoken with Harry and were merely using the day to build up their image.

All in all, it had been something of a travesty, with the highlight of the day being that only _one_ person had tried to destroy Harry's headstone.

In the grand scheme of things, yesterday hadn't meant a thing. Sure, if Harry was dead then it might have, but Neville adamantly believed that Harry was still alive. Despite the fact that they'd buried Harry's body, despite the fact that Neville had seen the body, despite the fact that Harry's wand had been found on the body, he _knew _that Harry was alive.

He wasn't the only one.

At the funeral he hadn't listened to a single word that was spoken. Instead, he eyed the crowd, scanning those that knew Harry, looking for signs that said they knew this was an elaborate charade. Ginny truly believed that Harry was dead and even though she was distraught about it, he couldn't bring himself to tell her of his suspicions. In the unlikely scenario in which he was wrong, the false information would likely kill her. He wasn't going to get her hopes up.

Arthur, Bill and Fleur Weasley truly believed that this was a solemn day. Fred and George had not. They had acted the role of grieving friends, but because he had been looking for it, he saw through their illusion. He was more than sure they'd seen through his.

"I told you he'd be here," a voice said from behind him.

'_Speak of the Devil...'_

"Huh," a second, identical voice replied. "I was sure he'd be here later."

"And what does that teach you?" the first voice asked.

"That while I'm the better looking twin, you're the smarter one?" said voice number two.

"Exactly! Wait, what?"

Neville rolled his eyes; their 'routine' had gotten old years ago, as did his fear of them. "Fred, George," he said, not turning away from the grave.

"General Longbottom, sir!" they shouted in unison. He heard their feet snap together and knew beyond a doubt that they'd just saluted him. That had gotten old three days after he'd been given the nickname.

He turned towards the two idiots. "And here I thought that after yesterday you two would have calmed down a bit," he told them, slipping his hands into his pockets. He didn't know for sure if they suspected Harry was alive, and he wasn't going to say anything until they admitted it first.

"We would have," Fred told him.

"But then, we all know that yesterday someone pranked the world," George finished.

'_Only those idiots could consider what Harry did a prank.' _They both grinned at him, daring him to deny it. It continuously surprised him how they could keep up their appearance of being jesters. After the loss of half of their family, it was almost impossible to imagine. Perhaps it was because they both had each other. Perhaps nothing could truly keep them down, or more likely, it was a facade, putting on a front to act how they had before the world went to hell.

"How about we discuss this somewhere else?" Neville asked, looking around. Too many people could overhear their words here. "Longbottom Manor?" Neville offered.

The twins saluted again, twisting on the spot and Apparating away with a _crack_. He followed them a moment later.

Arriving at his manor he called a house-elf, and had it fetch drinks for them to be taken to the 'Head of Family Office.' Without another word he made his way through the large manor. He took a seat behind the large comfortable desk in the office. The twins conjured their own chairs. Neither matched the room's decor. He warded the room for privacy.

"'_Prank'_ isn't exactly the word I'd use," Neville told them, continuing the conversation from where they'd left off.

George grinned, "But then, you never had much of sense of humour."

"He never did find our jokes funny, did he?" Fred asked his brother.

Neville smiled slightly. "As I was usually the butt of those jokes, I think you could forgive me for that." He paused for a moment as his house-elf arrived with their drinks. He took a sip; the muggle drink had apparently been his father's favourite. "So, how long did it take you two to decipher this?" he asked.

"After reading the article," Fred told him. "There was too much wrong with the story."

"What gave it away?" Neville asked curiously; the information that had allowed him to guess wasn't known to Fred and George.

"It was all too theatrical," George told him. "It was beautifully done, but we know Harry well enough to know when he's pulling the wool over our eyes."

"Everything was perfect," Fred continued. "The fight was dramatic and destructive. It had a crowd and was done during the afternoon."

"Harry used a spell that people consider his own," George added, referring to what Harry called his 'Army of Three' spell where he conjured a stag, a wolf and a grim.

"But there was a body," Neville countered. "And his wand was found in his hand." The wand use had been one of the strongest clues for Neville.

"Leaving the wand was an expert touch," George told him, looking quite proud.

"But you're forgetting something," Fred followed up with a devious grin. "No one _saw_ him die. There was a bang, and then a flash, and then there was a body." He seemed quite pleased at his deduction. "No one saw the spells him it and he was on the ground before the light cleared."

"We can spot a trick when we see one," George finished.

Neville had to give them credit for that. What had happened could easily be explained by a lucky shot, exactly as the papers were saying, but the twins were right, no one had actually seen Harry die; the battlefield had been too obscured. In the Pensieve memory that had been brought to Britain long with Harry's body it had been difficult to see much by the time Harry _died_.

"We can also tell that Harry was holding back. He knows far nastier spells and he's brought down far nastier people. Had it been real, the attackers would have died and a lot more damage would have been," Fred mused.

"Do you think anyone else could discover this?" Neville asked.

The twins considered it. "Maybe, but all of them are under some pretty heavy secrecy and loyalty oaths," George told him.

"You remember what he was like with those oaths after Zack Smith grabbed him and handed him to his Master; those that know him properly wouldn't be able to betray Harry, even if they tried to," Fred continued.

"And all the others are dead," George added solemnly, no doubt remembering Ron, Hermione and Remus. They would have seen through Harry's deception. Having yet to touch their drinks, the twins used this moment to down them, barely even shuddering at its strong taste. Neville did the same.

"What about you, Neville?" Fred asked. "What gave the game away?"

Despite the numerous secrecy contracts Harry had everyone under, he still wasn't going to part with that information; Harry hadn't shared his _other power _or his wandless capabilities to anyone but himself. That information was to be kept utterly silent until Voldemort was defeated. Harry had vanished before he could tell anyone else.

"That's under a secrecy oath," Neville lied. "I have a couple of reasons, I just can't say them out loud." He watched the twins carefully, "I understand your reasons for believing Harry's alive, but your information is vague at best."

"Oh, we knew before we read the article," Fred said as though it was unimportant.

"But we're under secrecy oaths to stop us saying anything," George continued with missing a beat.

They grinned in unison and Neville knew they were lying. He also realised that they knew he'd lied as well about the same thing. He could understand Operational Secrecy; the fewer people who knew Harry's secrets, the less likely they were to get out. As Harry wanted to stay dead and hidden from the world, they do what they could to help.

For now.

"What impressed us the most was the fake body," Fred told him. "We'd love to know how he did that. From what dad's told us, the Ministry had the Department of Mysteries go over that and they found nothing out of the ordinary. It's a work of art."

"How do you think he did it?" Neville asked. "Would polyjuice potion work?"

"Polyjuice would show up in the blood," George told him. "What Harry did is beyond anything we've heard of before."

"Do you think it was dark magic?" Neville asked. Harry had almost gone off the deep end a couple of times and Neville knew just how badly Harry had wanted to escape Britain.

Fred shrugged, "With Harry, you never know, but we hope not."

"Do you plan on telling Ginny?" Neville asked.

"We're not sure we even could," Fred told him. "But Harry wants to remain gone, and no matter what it's doing to our sister, it's best we keep quiet."

Neville nodded, glad to hear that. "Good, good," he muttered. An idea came to mind. "How certain would you say you were that Harry was still alive?" Neville asked.

"100 percent," George answered.

"95 percent," Fred answered at the same.

George looked at his twin in a bit of surprise. Neville couldn't tell how much of that was him just pretending. "I thought we were completely sure?" George asked his twin.

"We have been known to be wrong before," Fred told him sagely.

"That's very rare, but, you _are_ the smart twin," George added. He frowned and turned to Neville, "Is it better being pretty or smart?"

"You're not my type," Neville shot back. "How sure?" he asked again, showing that he was serious.

"Completely," they said together

"Then what would you say if I suggested we carry out a bit of Harry's will that the Ministry missed?"

There was a gleam in both twins eyes. "You mean digging up the grave of a national hero and incinerating the contents?" Fred asked.

"Something like that," Neville told them with a half smile, already knowing their answer.

"Wicked!"

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Thursday 2__nd__, June, 2005)_

It was nearing graduation and Smallville High had become a mad house. His year group was _so _excited that they were finally leaving High School and heading towards University. He wasn't feeling the buzz, but as he barely had any classes these days, he was more often than not away from the school, doing whatever caught his fancy; flying, combat training and frequently visiting Evan at PLabs.

The young boy was recovering nicely. A daily regimen of non-magical treatments as well as potions was helping him improve by the day. Due to the nature of his treatments he hadn't been allowed to leave the lab yet. A private room had been set up for his stay. Unlike most young boys he had books instead of toys decorating it. Thankfully, due to his high level of intelligence and his curiosity, he hadn't been suffering due to being kept underground.

Most of the doctors, scientists and nurses had grown quite fond of the small boy and were frequently found teaching him about what they were doing. He likely knew more medical knowledge after a week there than people three times his age had.

Harry, Clark and Lana visited him frequently and he enjoyed their stays.

The doctor in charge of Evan's case was confident that Evan would be able to leave the lab in two more weeks. Everything was set for that moment. It had taken Jenny the better part of four days to get Evan's details and back story created and now it was airtight. He had officially been born on the 23rd of May, 1997. His mother, Karen Gallagher had died moments after his birth, naming him Evan.

Harry wondered if Jenny or Arthur Jones, MI's liaison in the Magical Government, realised the similarities to another child birth with a similar story.

From there, he'd been given to one of the many orphanages in Metropolis, where he grew up, never being selected by parents looking for a child. In two weeks Andrew and Samantha Walker would walk into the orphanage, looking to adopt a child. Coincidentally, the orphanage was owned by Harry and Samantha worked as a nurse in PLabs. She had quickly fallen in love with the Evan, and he with her.

It was perfect really. The family had been fully investigated and been deemed fit to adopt. Samantha had high security clearance and knew about the supernatural world. Evan had been asked his opinion, and even though he'd stated that he wanted to live with Clark and Lana, the promise that they'd visit him as often as they could assured him that everything would be alright.

The only real problem was Evan's power. His power was similar in a very minor way to Harry's elemental power. He couldn't create lightning, or teleport – although the theory was that he might eventually evolve to that point – but he could easily shut down any electrical circuit within the range of a quarter of a mile. He was so young and right now, his power appeared to be emotionally driven. After having a serious tantrum he'd accidentally shut down all but the emergency power to PLabs. Only after he was calmed down did the power turn on.

A subsidiary of Marauder Industries was currently working on a method of suppressing this ability until he learned to control his potentially dangerous power. The boy's power somewhat worried Harry. He had been in the lab when Evan had shut down the power and to his alarm he hadn't been able to reverse what had been done. Evan had been calmed before he learned if the rest of his electrokinetic powers had been shut off. His conscience forbade him from deliberately upsetting Evan in order to replicate the event, and as such, part of his reason for spending so much time at the lab was to see if it would happen again without it being forced.

Evan was not an early riser and hated mornings, so that was the best time to be around the lab for now. He was just about to Apparate there, and maybe grab breakfast when his phone rang. The number was blocked.

"Harry Evans," he answered, trying to tie his shoes just using magic. It was more difficult than he's assumed it would be.

"Mr. Evans, this is Gabriel Knox," the voice replied, obviously English.

"Yes?" Harry asked, knowing now why the number was barred.

"We request you're presence when you are free. We have information you'll likely find very interesting."

"I'll be there in ten minutes," Harry told the man, hanging up immediately. It was strange that he was getting a call to visit, but then, they likely had a reason for it.

Checking that Lois was still asleep and not downstairs, Harry Apparated to Metropolis. An Apparition point had been created near Marauder Tower and was disguised as being a port-a-loo. Heavy enchantments kept it hidden from all those that didn't know its location.

The walk to Marauder Tower was quick, and after a quick hello to the girls manning the reception desk, Harry entered the elevator. He pushed the door close button and waited for a moment. Closing his eyes he mentally selected the lifts location. It began to descend, stopping after twenty seconds. The door opened to a long corridor. The walls, floor and ceiling were black, with an appearance that resembled marble. He swiftly walked along, stopping at a large black steel door. A golden depiction of the Eye of Horus decorated the door. He stood and waited.

Green light lit up the room as Harry was subjected to a full body scan. He stood still and allowed it do its job. After 15 seconds a metal plate on the steel door vanished, right where the pupil on the Horus Eye had been. Harry stepped forward, allowing it scan his retina. Finally, after stating his name for the voice recognition software, the steel door slid upward, allowing him access.

Solaris, the eyes of Prometheus Labs, was without a doubt the most illegal and immoral venture being undertaken by Marauder Industries. Harry had had a difficult time accepting it at first. Its purpose was the discovery of meta-humans in and around the Metropolis area. To do this most of the city's major computers had been hacked, including CCTV cameras, hospital networks, stopping short of the NSA servers that were located at 1001 Central Avenue.

From this location, almost all of Metropolis could be monitored and Harry was loath to admit that it was a necessary thing. Beyond the meta-humans Harry had met at Smallville, almost all of the others had been found due to the work of Solaris. When Zeke had originally suggested it, Harry had been adamant that it was wrong; they didn't _need_ to find the meta-humans that were in Metropolis. Only a small handful of them had ever attacked anyone, and they didn't need to be monitored or found. _This _was overkill and it a step in the wrong direction.

Zeke had dissuaded him of his notions quickly. First, the magic world seemed adamant about avoiding both Metropolis and Smallville, and he had never bought the reason that the Luthor's were a security risk to the magic world. He had no proof, but he was sure there more to the situation than there appeared to be.

"_It's our city," _Zeke had told him. _"No one else is watching out for it and someone has to."_

Second, just like in the magic world, eventually, someone with enough power would rise, and with the sporadic nature and manifestation of powers, there was no estimating at how much damage could be done. Harry had already met several people that had the potential to cause major destruction. Solaris was the pre-emptive measure for a horrible scenario.

It was also the location where the _AngelWing Mark II _was monitored; a collaborative effort of MI and Swann Communications. The idea for it had come after Harry's meeting with Patricia Swann back in New York. She'd mentioned how her father's satellites had picked up magical hotspots all across the world. _AngelWing_ was a satellite that had been improved in order to see _through_ the magical hotspots. The _Mark I _had failed, despite estimations. The _Mark II _was slightly better and work was currently being done on the _Mark III_.

The secrecy of Solaris was beyond that of even Prometheus Labs. Thirteen people knew about it; Harry, Zeke, Jenny, Michelle, Dr. Warner and the eight technicians that ran it. They were under severe security contracts and the section of the Marauder Tower was under as many protective wards as could be cast. Harry himself had cast the notoriously difficult Fidelius Charm to hide it, being one of the few people in the world that knew it.

As he walked through the opening the steel door had just provided he reached the main section of Solaris. It wasn't large, but most of it was lined with monitors and other electrical equipment. It looked like something out of science fiction movie, the type that Lois made him watch.

The phone call earlier had been from the man who ran this place, and it was rare that Harry was called down here. They usually found him or Zeke when they had information. In the small area it didn't take him long to find Gabriel. With security being what it was, they'd known he was coming since the moment the lift began to move.

"Thank you for coming Mr. Evans," Gabriel greeted, shaking his hand.

"I was surprised to get a call down here. To be honest, it still gives me the creeps," Harry told him. He could see footage from several security cameras at a quick glance around.

"And this is still a dream to me," he told him. "To each his own." Gabriel had originally worked with MI7, a part of the British Government that monitored the supernatural. Due to Pureblood politics, this section of the Government had been disbanded years ago. Zeke had found the man working for a security company and offered him something better. "Now, this is why I asked you here."

He handed Harry a green folder and took a step back. Harry quickly noticed the name of the subject.

_Sullivan, Moira_

"What's this?" Harry asked quickly, looking up at the man.

"It's a little embarrassing that we missed this," Gabriel confessed. "But given her situation, she hadn't been deemed viable."

Harry opened the file, skimming quickly through the details. "When did you discover this?" Harry asked quietly. This was... he wasn't sure.

"Last night," Gabriel told him. "With Belle Reve being such a hotspot for GME's we've been branching out from Metropolis, looking at all the psychiatric institutes in the area for those that might have been exposed to the green meteors."

"Moira Sullivan was self-admitted to Forest Glen Sanatorium seven years ago and has been catatonic ever since," Gabriel continued. "A blood test proved that she is meteor exposed."

A glance through the file quickly made Harry feel guilty. He'd done a little to help his friends since coming to Smallville, doing whatever little things here and there to help them, but he'd completely forgotten about Chloe's mum. He'd known about her since the Nightmare Gas had nearly killed him back in December, yet he'd completely forgotten about her. Well, meteor exposed or not, he was going to help now. He'd just have to speak with Chloe – after coming up with a lie as to how he found out about her.

As far as he knew, Chloe hadn't mentioned her mum's details to anyone.

"There's more," Gabriel continued. "Due to our oversight with Moira Sullivan, we checked her daughter as well; Chloe Sullivan."

"What did you find?" Harry asked, looking up quickly.

"Her blood shows the standard meteor induced evolution," Gabriel told him.

"Huh," Harry muttered, not quite sure how Chloe was going to take this. She, along with Lana, were still of the opinion that all meteor infected people were psychopaths, just waiting for the moment when they'd snap and kill their friends. With her now being meteor infected, it would be a really good idea to disabuse her of that idea. A trip to PLabs should help in that regard.

"Do you have an estimate as to when this happened?" PLabs could narrow down the exposure time to a matter of months now with only a blood sample. Dr. Warner told him that it was still a work in progress.

"Since she was four, give or take a few months," Gabriel told him.

"She is not going to be pleased with this," Harry muttered to himself.

"I assume you require for this information to be dealt with like last time?" Gabriel asked.

"Of course," Harry told the man, looking into his eyes, making sure Chloe's details would be kept between the two of them, just like he'd done when Solaris discovered Clark a month after its activation.

Gabriel Knox was very good at what he did.

"What do you want done with the mother?" he asked.

"Keep it quiet for now," Harry ordered. "I'll speak with Chloe myself and see what can be arranged from there, but this goes no further for now." Harry sighed; this was exactly what Chloe was going to want for a graduation gift. "Thank you for getting this to me Gabriel," Harry told him. Getting a nod in reply, he left.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated back home, appearing just outside his back door. Only having been gone for fifteen minutes, Lois would still be asleep upstairs, so he didn't have to worry about coming up with an excuse as to where he'd been. He picked this morning's _Daily Planet_, _Metropolis Journal _and the _Inquisitor _up from the front door and quietly entered the house. He dropped down at the dining room table and opened the _Sullivan_ files. Chloe was meteor-infected? He wondered if she actually knew of this, or if it was something new.

The details on Moira Sullivan's file were short, despite her having been there for seven years. It listed the various treatments that had been tried on her, and how every single one of them had fail. One sentence caught Harry's eye.

'_Considered delusional – Claims to have the ability to control her daughter.'_

Perhaps that was her ability? _Mind control_ seemed to be one of the most frequent powers, although it always varied slightly.

The report from Solaris only made a small bit of sense to him, but he understood enough to know that the meteor content in her blood had her at the strong end of the powers scale. There wasn't a specific measurement of power yet, but Dr. Warner was convinced that testing several more exposed people would give him a better understanding.

He pushed Moira Sullivan's files aside and moved on to her daughters; his friend. If Chloe didn't already know about this, and he was sure he would know if she did, she was probably going to panic. It was a common occurrence with most people, especially after they were warned about what _could_ happen to them. The prospect of being locked away by Unfriendlies was always unsettling; the prospect of going crazy and trying to kill your friends, much more so.

With Chloe's history with meta-humans, she'd likely take the news a lot harder than most. He'd hopefully be able to get her past that. He also wasn't sure how she'd take the news about her mother. According to the visitor log Moira Sullivan hadn't had anyone visit her in a long time. Neither Chloe nor her father were listed as visitors. Harry frowned; why had Chloe not visited? She'd know about her mother for over half a year now...

It was unsettling and it brought up the question of what he was going to do about it. He could tell her, shatter her world view and hope she handled it well or say nothing, allow her to continue living without the knowledge. The decision was his.

He laughed sardonically. Didn't _he _feel like he was back in his war, deciding which plan would result in less lives being lost? Didn't _this_ remind him of Albus Dumbledore revealing the prophecy to him...

Footsteps snapped him out of his morbid thoughts. "It's too early for you to making noise," Lois mumbled as she came down the stairs. She had clearly just woken up and her hair was a mess, flattened on one side. She was wearing her 'ducky' pyjamas and her fluffy bunny slippers. A week ago he would have just smirked at Lois' attire, knowing how bizarre it was for the strong willed, tomboyish girl to be wearing clothes like that. Now he just thought it was cute. He _really_ wished he didn't.

Harry glanced at the clock on the wall, pulling his eyes from the girl in front of him. "Had you not taken coffee to your cousin at _2am_ this morning and gone to bed like I suggested, you probably wouldn't be tired." He paused; this was still early for Lois, despite what time she went to bed. "As tired," he corrected. "And I was being quiet," he added.

Lois scowled at him. "You're not as quiet as you think. Besides, this issue of the Torch will be Chloe's last. You know it's important that she make it a special edition." Lois continued as she reached the kitchen. He quickly hid the _Sullivan _folders.

"And she could have easily taken a short break and gotten coffee herself," Harry told her, picking up a newspaper.

Lois shrugged as she made towards the coffee pot. "Other than Mrs. K, I was the only one with keys to the Talon," she told him. Pouring the dark liquid into her favourite mug she inhaled deeply and perched herself at the table.

"The place where her best friend lives?" Harry asked with a smile. He hadn't understood why Lois took Chloe coffee last night, and it was making less sense this morning.

"So she didn't want to wake Lana up," Lois countered. "She knew I'd be awake."

"I _know_ she knows how to make a cup of coffee herself. Surely she didn't need her cousin to fetch her some," Harry countered again. As Lois was still somewhat half asleep, there was a chance he could win this argument.

Lois grinned at him. "Everyone knows I make the best of coffee in Smallville, Evans. Chloe knows good coffee and I couldn't expect my little cuz to settle for anything less than perfection."

Harry couldn't help but laugh; what could he say to that? "Damn," he muttered to himself, looking away as Lois practically glowed with her victory. "You win, Lane," he told her. "When have you got work?" he asked.

"Changing the subject?" Lois asked, snatching the _Planet_ from his hands just as he opened it. He sighed and picked up another paper instead.

"Just curious," Harry told her.

Lois glanced at the clock on the wall. "Soon," she told him.

"Should be fun. All of the Seniors are skipping class today, so you're going to be busy." He opened the _Inquisitor_.

"Which is why I get off at lunch," Lois told him with a pleased smile. "As much as I love Mrs. Kent, there was no way I was working a full shift on skip-day. I leave that to the kids that work there."

"That's sweet of you Lois," Harry told her, rolling his eyes.

"You know me, sugar and spice," she told him, more or less fully awake now.

"Did you ever find out what happened to the '_all things nice_?' part?" Harry asked, with fake idleness.

Lois smirked at him, "I think Chloe stole that when we were kids."

Harry laughed, "That must be it." He glanced at this morning's headline.

**Intergang warfare on the Rise**

_Armed gangs delving further into Metropolis. Are any of us safe?_

Harry just shook his head. Metropolis seemed to get more troubled by the day, and with the projects MI was trying to set up in _Suicide Slums_, Harry was frequently worried that one his sites would be attacked. They had security, and it hadn't happened yet, but things kept getting worse in the city. Zeke's assurances that it was under control didn't help. Gotham City had the _Batman _and recent rumours said that Star City had its own mysterious vigilante protecting its streets. There was no word of a hidden saviour in Metropolis. Like Gotham, it needed one.

Everything was going well for Harry these days and he was anticipating the other shoe dropping soon. It was long overdue.

The caffeine in her coffee seemed to be waking her up nicely. "So what do you plan on doing today? Skipping down to lake with the rest of your charming classmates?" she asked sarcastically.

"I'll skip that," Harry told her. "MI should have finalised the buy-out of Summerholt Labs, and I need to check in with a few other things." It felt good that he could now openly discuss what he was _really_ doing now. It felt like a weight off his shoulders. "Busy day," he told her, not embellishing at all. He liked keeping up-to-date with all things MI, even though it was keeping him busy. Though he trusted Zeke to run things, and Jenny to inform him of things he _should_ know, he didn't like being out of the loop.

"That sounds like loads of fun," Lois commented with a roll of her eyes.

Harry was about to reply when his phone buzzed. Lois looked up curiously as he read the text message from PLabs.

**From: **_**PL**_

'_Code: GME-4-06/07'_

Harry frowned, trying to remember all of the security protocols that PLabs had. The messaging system was automatic, sent out to him in the case of lockdown being activated, or another similar situation.

_GME _of coursestood for _Green Meteorite Evolution, _the _4_ represented lockdown. He just couldn't remember what the _06_ was for, or the _07_. As he remembered his blood ran cold.

_06 – Massive Property Damage_

_07 – Possible Fatalities_

"I've got to go," Harry told Lois, quickly getting to his feet. He made his way to the back door of the house, quickly pulling on his shoes.

"Everything alright?" Lois asked from her spot in the kitchen.

"Don't know," Harry told her. Had there been an attack? Had one of the meta-humans snapped, or had there just been an accident.

He rested his hand on her shoulder, a move that surprised both he and Lois. It was an action he'd picked up during the war, used to reassure a friend when he was preparing to go to battle. "I'll call you later," he told, exiting the house and Apparating to Metropolis, ignoring the fact that Lois would undoubtedly discover that his bike was still parked outside and that he had simply vanished the moment he stepped out of her line of sight.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Five minutes prior)_

"Alright, Miss Fletcher," the scientist told her. "Focus on the wall in front of you and try again."

She rolled her eyes, knowing full well that he could see the action. She ducked her head, allowing a curtain of purple and blonde hair to fall across her face. With a loud exaggerated sigh she held up her right hand and concentrated hard on the wall in front of her. Supposedly it was designed to withstand powers like hers, but she doubted it. It was just a wall.

A stupid wall that mocked her.

She concentrated on her hand, willing, wishing, her power to work. She closed her eyes, trying to feel any sort of odd sensation in her hands. She'd been told she _should_ feel something, but could never remember much about the incidences when she _had _used her powers.

She didn't like remembering them. With that, her concentration was gone. She lowered her hand and looked at the scientist with a bored look that covered for the fact that she was angry and upset that she _still _couldn't get this right!

"Can I go now?" she asked him, faking impatience. She didn't know what this guy's name was, and she didn't care either. There were too many of them to remember.

He sighed, sounding disappointed. "Of course, Ms. Fletcher."

It had been three _months_ since she'd first seen this place, and she hadn't been able to use her powers once. No matter what she tried, nothing would happen. The closest she'd gotten was making her finger nails glow green a little bit. She was sure she'd imagined it. Harry had been there and said he'd seen it too, but he was probably just trying to be nice.

She liked Harry. He wasn't like the rest of these people with their fancy schools and jobs. _He_ knew what life was like and had the scars to prove it. She hadn't asked about them – you didn't do that sort of thing – but they were definitely fighting scars, like that boy a few foster homes back who got arrested for knifing some guy in an alley. She'd been glad when he left and was just as glad when she left. Old people didn't make good foster parents.

He was a busy man though. From what she'd overheard he ran a big company and did lots of things for them. He visited the lab when he could and always made time to say _hi_ to her, but he wasn't around much. She understood that, even if she'd prefer it otherwise. Harry was one of the few people that _really_ saw her.

She walked out of the '_Live Fire'_ room, hands in pockets with no real destination in mind. Before she was brought here she'd have wondered the streets for hours, not really caring about how dangerous people said they were. She could handle herself well enough; or, she could, if her stupid power worked.

She walked through the large lab, a maze of near identical corridors. It had freaked her out a bit the first time she was down here; the situation that brought her here only making things worse. Only the drugs she'd been given and seeing that her hero was alright had helped.

That was what her friend was, even if he denied it. He called it _'duty' _and _'destiny' _but that was what the heroes in the comic books said as well. That was another reason why she liked Harry; he just wanted to help people.

She followed the blue painted line along the corridor. The floor had so many coloured lines along it that it almost looked like a rainbow. It looked out of place, and she wasn't the type of girl that thought rainbows and unicorns were pretty. You had to follow them to find the sections that you wanted. When she'd first arrived here she wouldn't have been able to find anything without them, but after three months, she knew this place like she knew the back alleys of the big city above them.

The blue line led to the canteen. Never having money to buy her own food up in the city, and never getting anything exciting at her current foster home, it was her favourite place here. Her other favourite was at the end of the yellow line, the section of the lab people called _'Emerald City.'_ She had no idea what was at the end of the yellow line and she hadn't been allowed in yet. That was apparently the most secret place here and she didn't have permission to enter. That didn't stop her walking near the entrance at least once a day to try and catch a glimpse of what was inside. She hadn't had any luck yet, but she was determined. She'd been told more than once that she a very curious girl.

She continued walking through the corridors, peeking glimpses into the rooms that had windows or glass doors. You never know what you could find down here and it always seemed to change. Just last week she'd spent five minutes watching a boy a few years older than her heal what looked like a nasty cut, just by holding his hand over it. It was fascinating. The more she saw, the more she felt as though she was really a part of something.

It all felt too good though. Short of the incident that had brought her here, everything had been going perfectly. An old foster father of hers, the one she'd first used her powers on, had been arrested, she had a small allowance and things were easier at school. Harry had_ insisted_ she go, saying something about some girl he once knew killing him if he allowed her to skip class. She'd hated it before but now she had something of a friend there helping her. The girl was a freshman, whose sister was good friends with Harry. Rachel was smart and popular and she had someone to talk to now. It was nice to talk to someone who didn't care that you were a foster kid.

She was just waiting for the _bad_ thing to happen. It always did when things were beginning to go well. Her mother had died, her only friend had moved away and she'd been forced out of every nice foster home she'd been in. This was too good to last.

She walked passed _'The Exit'_ avoiding eye contact with the guards stationed there. They were the type of people that always assumed she was doing something wrong, like the security guards that followed her around in shops and watched her closely. A few feet passed '_The Exit' _the power suddenly shut off. She stopped in her tracks, just like she'd been told to do. She leant against the wall and waited for the power to come back up. The red lights powered by the emergency power snapped to life.

That had been happening over the last week or so, ever since they brought in Evan. He was a decent enough kid. She didn't know his story, but she knew he'd been sick enough that they built him a room down here _and_ that he wasn't allowed to leave in case he got sick again. His power seemed to be shutting down everything when he had a tantrum. She could understand that; she'd feel the same way as he did if she was told she was locked in here.

She sighed, waiting in the near-dark for the power to come back on. She liked the dark; she was used to it. She felt no reason to stay where she was until the power came back on; she could see just fine and she knew where she was going. Shrugging, she stepped forward.

A hand clamped down hard on her shoulder and she screamed.

Without conscious control her power flared up. She spun, raising a hand to push away whoever had grabbed her.

A green lance of energy burst from her hand, cutting a wide arc into the steel walls and ceiling of the facility. The entire building shuddered from the blast. Corrine stared in horror at the damage she had just caused. The hand lifted from her shoulder. It took her only seconds to register what had just happened.

Before the security guards could grab her, before the lock down could kick in, she turned and ran, slipping into the Exit chamber and disappearing in a flash of blue light. After the quick sensation of feeling as though she'd been grabbed around the stomach and pulled sharply, she found herself on the packed streets of Metropolis. She ran for her life.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Upon arriving at PLabs he noticed that there was only one guard manning the Apparition point, and not one that he recognised. "What happ..." Harry asked, trailing off as glanced to his right. In the darkened corridor he saw the destruction done to the lab and stopped where he was. People were studious working, doing what they could to repair the damage. It appeared as though there had been a cave in. With the amount of people in the corridor, he couldn't completely see what had happened.

He turned back to the guard. "What the hell happened here?" he asked quietly.

"There was another black-out," the guard informed him. "Miss Fletcher broke protocol and continued down the corridor. Grant tried to stop her…" he trailed off.

"What did he do?" Harry hissed. What had scared a young girl so much that she'd caved in what he'd believed to be indestructible walls. There was no other way for a cave in to have occurred.

"He just grabbed her shoulder," the guard said, defending his colleague. "She screamed and her power activated. It was an accident from what we could see. She just freaked."

Harry nodded curtly to the man and walked towards the devastation. He slipped passed a couple of maintenance guys, looking for Warner. He'd surely be around here somewhere.

He found the man nearby. "Harry, thank you for coming," Warner said as he spotted him.

"I heard what happened," Harry said. "The guard said Corrine panicked."

"That's the story we've been told as well," Warner said.

"Why hasn't this been repaired yet?" Harry asked, barely able to keep from gaping at the damage. Corrine's ability seemed to have gouged through 30ft of steel and stone. Harry doubted he'd have been able to replicate anything similar himself. She was getting more powerful each time she used her powers. He'd talk with her, and he'd spend a lot more time with her, trying to help her gain control of what she could do.

"Miss Fletcher's energy blast caved in several sections of this facility. All the magic users are currently trapped further into the lab. Debris has fallen, blocking their exit and with the protections on this place, they've been unable to get out with magic means," Warner told him.

Harry looked around once again at the destruction. "Was anyone hurt?" Harry asked, his fingers crossed.

"A few people," Warner told him. "But nothing permanent and no one was killed."

Harry let out a relived breath. "How stable is this place just now?" Harry asked. With the protections on the lab, as well as how far it was underground, if the lab collapsed, they were in trouble.

"Completely," Warner told him. "The damage is cosmetic, not structural. I was hoping you had enough power to help repair the problem and free the wand users."

Harry nodded, turning to focus completely on the damage. "Everyone!" Harry shouted. "I need you clear the area!" The maintenance crew quickly departed. Harry walked forward, inspecting the damage done. A simple _Repairo _with sufficient power would likely sort the problem. He hadn't tried a repair on this level before, but he was confident in his abilities. He turned to Warner. "I'd take a few steps back as well. If this goes wrong it's a lot easier shielding one person."

Warner stepped back and Harry took a deep breath. Holding both arms out in front of him he cast the repairing spell. His arms buckled slightly under the weight of it. He felt as though he was trying to bench press something beyond what his muscles could handle. Slowly and steadily, he increased the power of the spell and raised his arms higher. The debris rose, almost sliding back into the places where it had fallen from. The sections of the lab where the rock and steel had simply been annihilated closed over, like skin healing over a wound.

He let out a sigh of relief as he felt the spell finish. He turned back to Warner who'd moved a good 20ft down the corridor. "Where else?" he asked.

"Follow me," Warner requested, walking away.

"Is Corinne alright?" Harry asked, realising that he didn't know the details. He knew she wasn't dead, but she might have been one of the injured people.

"We don't know," Warner told him quietly.

"Explain," Harry ordered, not liking the sound of that.

"Due to the power-outage the lock down procedure didn't activate for twenty seconds passed the point where they should have. She'd left via the _Portkey Portal _before anything could be done."

"And she wasn't stopped?" Harry hissed. Gods knew what she was thinking when she left. A similar situation from years ago was brought to the forefront of his mind and he knew why she'd run. "Never mind," Harry told Warner. "How many of these cave-ins happened?" he asked.

"There are three more."

"Then get me to the one blocking the magic users. I'll get them out and find Corrine. Enough time has been wasted already."

They picked up the pace, following the yellow line along the floor. Harry hastily cleared the doorway allowing the wizards and witches to free themselves.

"Let me know if there are any more problems," Harry ordered to Warner, before turning and quickly walking away. He quickly found the Apparition Point and Disapparated away from the lab.

Immediately upon landing on the streets of Metropolis his phone was out and a number dialled. "What can I do for you Mr. Evans?" Gabriel Knox answered.

"Knox, what security footage do you have from Prometheus? Before and after the blackout," Harry asked, looking around him for any sign of purple hair.

"The black-out lasted one minute and seven seconds," Knox told him. "When the power came back up the lab was in chaos. What happened?"

"Accidental power use," Harry told him. Using legilimancy on random people, he looked for any memory of Corrine. In a fast pace city such as this, no one had. "Corrine Fletcher got out of the lab before lock-down. I need you to find her, now."

He heard Knox giving orders in the background and knew that Solaris would be monitoring the city cameras, and perhaps even _AngelWing_ _Mark II_ if it was in range, for a sighting of her. "We're already looking," Knox told him. "It will take a minute to retrieve the footage of her exiting the lab. I'm assuming she left via the Portkey Chamber?"

"Yes," Harry told him. That gave them three options to find as the Chamber deposited those that exited at one of three random places nearby to each other. As they were already monitoring all three of those points, finding out which one she left from should be easy. Harry continued scanning the area, waiting for a location.

"She arrived at the Central point," Knox told him. That was just off Marauder Tower and about two miles from where he was now.

"Do you have a location on her?" Harry asked, walking into a dark alley and Apparating two miles to the west. The signal on the phone crackled for a moment.

"No," Knox told him. "She entered the nearest alley. From what we saw of her before you found her, she knows these well enough. We'll be hard pressed to track her."

"What about through _AngelWing_?" Harry asked. "Is that in position above the city?" He started scanning the minds of passersby again, looking for clues.

"It's several hours out," Knox relayed.

"Then bring it back," Harry ordered. "I don't know how long it will take me to find her."

Harry heard a few sharp keystrokes and muted orders. "You've got four hours until we have a picture of Metropolis."

Harry sighed. "Alright. I'm going to search her foster home and a couple of places I know she likes. After that I'll take this search airborne. I'll land every half hour for an update." He shut his phone off and found another nearby alley, Disapparating away.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Her foster home had been a dead end. The alley in which he'd saved her had been empty. The arcade a few blocks from her home had been devoid of any girl with violet hair. Due to her having no genuine friends besides Rachel O'Neil and knowing only a little else about her, he had no option beyond taking to the sky as Horus and searching for her with his enhanced eyesight. Magical tracking was a vague and imprecise practice. A skilled Tracker could follow a portkey or Apparition signature as long as it didn't travel through any serious wards, but that was it. The only spell he was aware of for _really_ tracking someone was a tracking charm, but that had to be placed on the person you wanted to find. As a pre-emptive measure it was a good one. Anything else made it useless, not to mention unethical. He had no right to know where someone was 24 hours a day.

It was in times like this that he wished his code of ethics was a little weaker. He _had_ cast the spell on Clark once, but the situation had called for it. After remembering to remove the spell, he'd done so immediately.

He felt his heart continue race in his chest as it had been for the last hour. He was feeling guilty about how little time he'd actually spent with the girl. He knew she trusted him and almost no one else, but other than checking up on her and a couple of conversations here and there, he'd not spent any concrete time with her. He remembered the first time he'd brought her to the lab. Despite a calming potion, she hadn't really calmed down until the moment she'd seen he was alright.

_(Flashback)_

_After being quickly ushered to an actual __**medical**__part of PLabs, his bullet wound had been healed within minutes. Due to the bullet hitting a previously spell damaged area of his shoulder, it hadn't been able to be healed completely. He now had an exit scar from the bullet at the back of his shoulder to remember the day. He didn't mind. He'd saved the girl who needed saved. A small scar was a small price to pay._

_He poked his shoulder with his forefinger wincing slightly at the still tender flesh. It would take several hours before his shoulder felt as it did before; not quite 'as good as new', but it should be alright. He'd been told he wouldn't lose any of the mobility and that was the best he could have hoped for._

"_It looks good, Healer Thomas," Harry told the man who'd fixed his shoulder. He smiled at the man. "Glad to have you onboard."_

_The young healer smiled back. He'd been a recent hire. "Glad to be here. Now, keep strenuous activities to a minimum for the next 24 hours, and you'll have no lasting damage."_

"_Just like last time," Harry told the man. He winced slightly as he pulled on a clean grey t-shirt._

"_If you don't mind me saying," the doctor said. "But after looking through your medical history, I'm honestly amazed that you're still alive. I've been a healer for seven years and I've never even heard of a case like yours. Including patients that have died."_

_Harry was able to smile slightly. "It surprises me as well, doctor. All I can say is that it just wasn't my time to die yet."_

_Healer Thomas hummed thoughtfully. "There is a Western misconception about an old Chinese execution method called Lingchi, 'Death by a thousand cuts.' I have to wonder when it is you'll receive your thousandth. You seem to be well past half way."_

_Harry actually laughed at that. "You can treat bullet wounds like an expert and you're more morbid that any of the Healers I've been treated by before." He smiled sardonically. "Shouldn't you be telling me to stop playing with sharp knives and sit at home surrounded by bubble-wrap?" he asked._

_The healer looked at Harry levelly. "With the amount of healers you must have had, combined with the amount of injuries you've obtained, I don't imagine there is anything I can say that you've not heard before. If you've not listened to anyone else, you won't listen to me."_

_Harry grinned, liking this man. "Keep up that attitude and we'll just have to…" He trailed off as he heard shouting outside the door._

"_See… alright… not… anywhere…" the voice shouted. He could only catch every other word. What he could tell was that the voice belonged to a young female. Raising an inquiring eyebrow to the healer he made his way to the door and opened it._

"_I'm sure he'll be alright. Please, if you just wait back in your room, I'll be able to check," a nurse, Samantha if he recalled correctly, told the young girl with dyed violet hair. Her back was to him. The nurse sighed in relief upon seeing Harry._

"_Wasn't she given a calming draught?" Harry asked thoughtfully. The violet haired girl had clearly snapped out of her shock, especially if she was shouting at nurses, but she didn't sound calm in the slightest._

_In a flash she turned around. At the sight of him up and about, especially appearing completely unharmed, she seemed a bit at a loss for what to do next. Her eyes widened slightly for a moment before she ducked her head. A second later, all expression was off her face other than a bored look. It hurt to see someone so young so good at masking how they felt._

_The nurse looked quite embarrassed. "She was," Samantha told him. "It only brought her out of her shock, but given her age, we couldn't administer any more."_

_The young girl now had her hands in her pockets and seemed rather unsure. "Thank you," he said to the nurse, nodding once in thanks. His tone made the dismissal obvious. A quick glance toward Healer Thomas made it clear that he wanted some privacy to talk to the young girl._

"_Come on," he said to her. "Are you hungry?" he asked her; he definitely was._

"_I guess," she told him with a shrug. He translated that to mean 'yes.'_

"_Then we'll get something to eat." He began walking to the canteen, walking beside her and making sure she was still following him. "The food isn't the best, but it's not bad either." The canteen would also be empty at this time._

_As they walked through the corridors she looked from side to side, doing her utmost to show little to no interest in her surroundings. Knowing he had to talk to her about a few things before he could explain the lab, he remained silent. They quickly reached the canteen. As Harry had guessed, it was empty._

"_Help yourself to whatever you want," Harry told her, grabbing several things from the offered selection, both out of hunger and to try and make her confident enough to take food of her own. He hoped he was reading this situation properly. Having met a lot of 'damaged' kids, he was sure he was._

_He nodded to himself with a small smile as she picked up some food and they moved to a far corner of the room. "We've not been properly introduced," Harry told her. "Harry Evans," he said, offering her hand._

_She looked at him with darkened eyes, judging whether he was worthy of her trust. He apparently passed. "Vi," she told him shaking his hand, barely gripping it and letting go quickly. He made no mention of her giving him a different name than the one he knew she had. It was perhaps a nickname. By the colour of her purple hair, perhaps it was abbreviated from 'Violet?'_

"_How are you feeling?" Harry asked compassionately. "I know situations like that are difficult to deal with."_

_She shrugged, taking a small bite of an apple. "I'm fine," she told him._

_Harry allowed himself a small smile, seeing a way to try and break the ice. Looking from side to side he leaned forward slightly, whispering as though he was telling a secret. "Take it from me," Harry told her. "People will never believe you if you just say you're fine. Tell someone that you're 'not better yet, but you're getting there' and you'll get away with it most of the time."_

_She smiled slightly. It was shy, but he'd gotten through to her._

"_Are you alright?" Harry asked, testing the waters again._

_She sighed. "Why were those men after me?" Vi asked._

"_Because you're special," Harry told her. "Because you can do things that no one else can." He paused, deciding how much to impart. "I don't know what would have happened to you if they had gotten to you, but people are looking into it."_

"_Has this happened before?" she asked cautiously._

"_We think so," Harry told her, leaning back in his chair. "We've noticed a few special people disappearing, which was why I was with you when the men attacked."_

"_You were spying on me!" she suddenly accused, indignation temporarily overpowering shyness. "You were the falcon I was speaking to!"_

_Harry winced at that; both at his animagus form being discovered, something only Solaris knew, as well as his guilt over how he was watching Vi. "I'm sorry about that," Harry told her honestly. "We didn't have any proof that you had any powers, and I don't usually get too close to people when I transform."_

"_Then why land on me?" she asked with a frown. He could see that he was slowly losing her trust._

"_One of my best friends used to be an owl," Harry told her, honestly. "When all my friends were away and I was by myself I would talk to her and she'd listen to me. Afterwards, I always felt a little better. You looked like you needed someone to talk to."_

"_Oh," was all she said. She ate another mouthful of food. "I suppose it's okay then," she conceded, her shyness back._

"_Thank you," Harry said sincerely. "Do you think you could keep the fact that I can turn into a falcon a secret?" Harry asked. "Only you and two other people know, and I'd really like to keep it that way."_

_She looked at him again with darkened eyes. He got the impression she was judging him again, and whether his secret was one to be kept. "Alright," she told him. "But only because you saved me." He had a feeling that she would have kept his secret nonetheless._

"_You saved me as well," Harry retorted. "So we were already even. Thank you for that," he told her._

"_How did you find me?" she asked suddenly, deliberately moving away from the topic. Harry looked at her in slight confusion. "You said you knew I was special; how?"_

"_Ah," Harry said, understanding. "I have people looking across Metropolis for people like you. Someone is taking them from the streets and I want to find them before they disappear. We heard about what happened at one of your foster homes and had suspicions."_

"_I didn't mean to do that," she told him, ducking her head slightly. Her hair fell across her face._

"_I know," Harry told her gently. "Powers are difficult to control when you're just coming into them. It was the same for me."_

"_Yeah?" she asked hesitantly._

_Harry nodded. "It's the same for everyone. Part of this place is to teach people how to use their powers."_

"_What __**is**__ this place?" she asked, looking around unsurely._

"_It's a lab, a hospital, a training facility," Harry told her. "It's a lot of things."_

"_Is it a prison?" she asked bluntly._

_Harry shook his head, despite it being a prison for some; they were the special cases, the ones that had experienced meteor rock psychosis; there still wasn't a cure for that, other than waiting it out. That was what had happened to Alicia, and she still hadn't completely snapped out of it. "No it's not. If you wanted to leave right now, I'd show you the exit and you'd never have to come back here again. Although, I hope you'll stay."_

_(End Flashback)_

Harry continued flying over the city, wishing that _someone_ had stopped her leaving today, even though that would have been a step in the wrong direction for the lab. He should have spent more time with her so that she felt she had someone to run to. He'd change that when he finally found her. Letting out several cries he shifted, reducing his altitude as he flew into a section of the city where the buildings were lower.

Landing on a rooftop, he placed a phone call to Jenny, assigning some of MI's security personnel to discreetly look for Corrine. He'd been sure he would have found her by now. Before he transformed back several voicemails from Lois arrived for him. Given that he'd simply vanished sighting an emergency, she probably just wanted to know where the hell he was and what was wrong. He'd see if he could appease her when he got home.

Transforming once again, he took to the sky.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Back in Smallville a meta-human was kidnapping Smallville High students that appeared on the _'Most likely to' _section of the year book. Clark was trying to solve the mystery of who took Chloe and three other students.

In Metropolis Jenny O'Neil was corresponding with the search teams that were looking for Corrine Fletcher, as well as keeping in constant contact with PLabs staff about the renovation of the facility.

The latter was going well. Safety checks were still being carried out, but the according to lab personnel, everything was back as it was. She'd been told that the source of the black-out _had_ been Evan and that he had calmed down now. She felt sorry for the kid; he was far too young to be kept locked away down in that lab. It certainly wasn't her favourite place. Hospitals, or anything similar, were not places she ever wanted to visit. They held no good memories for her.

The search for Corrine wasn't going too well. Reports on the girl said that she'd spent a lot of her life on the streets of the city and in its maze of alleys and narrow streets someone who knew it well could theoretically disappear for days. If they survived the night life that was.

The search teams had covered miles, but depending on how far Corrine had run, it could take too long to find her. She had heard the desperation in Harry's voice when he'd called her three hours ago, and really hoped he found the young girl soon.

The phone at her desk rang. She crossed her fingers, hoping it was Harry with good news. It wasn't. The caller display revealed it was Harry's friend Lois, the one that Harry had been fretting over. "Alexander Black's office," she answered as she always did when the phone rang.

"Uh, hi. I'm looking for Harry Evans," a female voice said, sounding a bit confused. It was likely that Lois was calling this number because she couldn't get through to Harry's phone. Frequent Apparition played havoc with cell phones.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Evans isn't in at the moment," she answered in her most professional voice. "Can I ask who's calling?" she asked, despite already knowing.

"This is Lois Lane, a friend of his," she told him. Was it just her imagination or did she sound worried.

"Of course, I apologise Miss Lane. Harry has several meetings today and he's in one at the moment." She didn't know how much Harry had explained to his friends and so she gave a standard excuse. She heard Lois let out a sigh of relief and pass the message on to someone else. She wondered what that was about.

"Harry's told me all about you," Jenny told Lois. She wondered how angry Harry would be if she hinted to Lois that Harry was fighting an attraction towards her. She'd barely considered it before discarding the idea. It wouldn't hurt to get to know the girl a little bit though.

"Really?" Lois asked slowly, drawing the word out. She could practically hear the smirk on the girls face. "And just who are you?" she asked.

"Jen O'Neil, Harry's assistant," Jenny told her, trying out the shortened version of her name.

"And I've heard nothing about you," Lois responded. The tone of her voice said that was going to change soon. "I guess Harry really does have a girl in the city then," Lois remarked. Had Harry not talked about the girl as often as he did, she wouldn't have known how to take that comment. From how Harry described his friend, she was brash and abrasive, in a caring, semi-sweet way. He'd described her in a similar light to Firewhisky; if drinking it when unprepared or unused to it, prepare to get burned. Drink it a few times; get use to the taste and sensation, and then it's a good friend to have.

"If you want to look at it that way, he has a few girls in the city," Jenny responded, a small plan forming in her mind.

"Does he now?" Lois asked. "_Not now, Smallville_," she muttered, speaking to someone in the background. "Anyone I might know?" she asked eagerly.

She considered it likely that Harry would kill her for this, but she took a deep breath and carried on. "You've never been to _O'Malley's _with him, have you?" she asked, knowing the answer already. She'd been there a few times with Harry and had seen a completely new side to him. _Harry Potter _was a warrior, a near immortal fighter that defeated all those that stood against him. He was not the type of person to tell _fairytales _to young children.

"The Irish pub?" Lois asked, her confusion evident. "He always avoids that place," she told her.

"Visit there next time you're out in the city with him and aim for early evening," Jenny advised, hoping this wouldn't backfire on her. "Just keep this conversation a secret between us though."

"Worried he'll find out it was you that told me?" Lois asked.

"Just insist on going there," Jenny repeated.

"Alright," Lois acquiesced, still not quite understanding but sensing there was a story there that only going to the pub could properly unveil.

There was a silent pause for a moment. "Harry's definitely fine just now?" she asked. "You _know_ he's in Metropolis?"

She didn't, not completely, anyway, but she knew Harry wouldn't leave until Corrine was found. "I'm sure," she told Lois, who obviously wanted validation for where Harry was. "Is everything alright in Smallville?" she asked.

"It hasn't gone nuclear yet, but if you hear from Harry let him know that we could possibly use his help," Lois told him. "_I'm coming Smallville!_" she shouted at the voice in the background she now realised was Harry's friend Clark. "Get him to call me back and thanks for the tip."

With that the line went dead. She only hoped that when Lois insisted they visit _O'Malley's, _she didn't end up dead as well.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The search had lasted for four hours and Harry was beginning to get tired. He'd covered almost half the city and had nothing but bad luck. He was starting to think that perhaps the Black Van People had turned up again and taken her. He was going to make several changes back at the lab when he returned. He just had to find Corrine first.

He'd tried her foster home again and there had still been no sign of her. Her foster parents hadn't even seem concerned, dismissing it as any sort of problem and saying that she was likely just wandering the city like she always did and she'd come home when she was hungry; like an animal. He'd barely stopped himself from cursing the woman. He _had _lost his temper with the woman though, and he _may_ haveshattered a few light bulbs. Negligent parents really pushed him the wrong way, and the events of the day certainly weren't helping.

Having searched a good deal of the city, and having had people search the remaining areas, he was now searching the places he'd tried at the beginning in the hopes that she'd perhaps doubled back.

Flying over the alley where he'd been shot didn't reveal anything. As he turned to search another area he caught a flash of movement and colour in his peripheral vision. Doubling back and flying _down_ the alley, he caught sight of purple hair. Stooping towards the ground he pulled up shortly before hitting the ground. He landed on overflowing dumpster without a sound. It was Corrine. He watched the young girl for a moment, allowing relief to wash over him. She was alright.

She was sitting where he'd rested after being shot, staring into the abyss, her knees up to her chest, arms wrapped securely around them. Her gaze seemed fixed at where the armed men had taken their final stand. She looked so lost and defeated that it broke his heart. His near telescopic vision picked up on her red bloodshot eyes and he realised she'd been crying. Flapping his wings hard he rose slightly into the air, transforming smoothly as he did. Just outside of her vision, he was still unnoticed. Making sure that he made sufficient sound as he walked, he approached her.

She looked up, startled. When she saw him she seemed to freeze before trying to back up against the wall her back was already too. He realised that she was afraid of him; of his reaction to what she'd done, perhaps. "It's alright Corrine," he told her softly, hoping she wouldn't run.

"I hate it when you call me that," she muttered. He wasn't sure if he was supposed to hear it or not. She had been named after her Grandmother and had always hated it. When she was seven she'd dyed her hair and called herself _Violet_. When the world got darker around her, she changed it to _Vi_.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologised. She preferred her nickname, the one she let her friends call her; the name that _only _he was allowed to use. He didn't feel worthy of that just now.

"It's fine," she said with a shrug.

He reached her, glad she hadn't run. He ducked down to one knee. "It's not 'fine'. You let me use your nickname and I've not been a good friend. You have no reason to believe me, but I'll do better from now on."

She still hadn't made eye contact with him. Her body shuddered slightly as though she was fighting herself. She looked up at him for the first time. There were tears in her eyes again. "I don't want to go to prison," she told him, pleaded to him.

"You won't," Harry told her quickly, leaving no room for argument. "You did nothing wrong."

"But I killed people!" she exclaimed. "I'm dangerous!"

"You were only trying to protect me, Vi," he told her, slipping in the use of her nickname. "And you're no more dangerous than anyone else in the facility."

"But there were people in the lab! I did so much damage," she sobbed.

"No one was killed, Vi," Harry told her. "Only a few people were hurt, but they're all better now and worried about you."

She looked at him incredulously. "No one's dead?" she asked.

"No one," Harry told her again. Shifting slightly, he sat down beside her. "What happened was my fault," he told her. "I could have helped you a lot more, but I've been too focused on… other things." Faking his death, Evan, fighting his feelings for Lois, the company, as well as trying to keep track of everything, had kept him preoccupied.

Vi shrugged. "It's ok," she told him. "I know you're busy with things. All the scientists and people talk about how you do loads of things. It's fine."

"No, it's not," Harry told her. He closed his eyes, thinking hard and quickly about what he was going to do, what he was going to fix. When he graduated, he didn't have any real plans for what he would do at Marauder Industries, other than the job title 'Special Advisor to the CEO.' He'd planned to keep an eye and ear out for everything the company dealt with, taking problems as they came. This situation showed him that he could do _more_. He could focus on one thing, and one thing only and let his company be run by the people that knew what they were really doing. Thinking about it, he could leave the majority of MI aside, letting Zeke run it without his interference.

If he was honest with himself, he could admit that in his life he'd been _really_ good at four things; Quidditch, teaching, fighting and surviving.

Quidditch wasn't an option. He was through with the magic world as a whole, and had he slept, returning to _that_ world would surely be one part of his infinite library of nightmares.

Surviving was still a full time occupation for him, but that did nothing to help others, only keep him alive. Fighting was an intricate part of surviving, and evidence suggested that he hadn't seen his last fight.

That left teaching. He'd taught the DA well when he'd been back in Britain, creating a fighting force that nearly equalled that of the Order of the Phoenix at their prime. At the time when Harry and Dumbledore had fought for the final time, when they fought to see who was the most worthy to lead the Light's warriors, Harry wouldn't have been able to say which group would have beaten the other; the DA or the Order.

While he attributed the DA's offensive and defensive prowess to the people as individuals; to their courage and determination, they maintained it was _his_ teaching and _his_ presence that transformed them from a group children with poor knowledge in defence, to adults, able to fight for their country and their friends. Although the thought that he was training his classmates and friends to be soldiers and warriors was a difficult one, there hadn't been another choice.

He could take up a proper job at PLabs, doing what he could to teach those coming into their unique powers. His knowledge on magic was fairly well rounded, as long as only the wand based practices were included. His knowledge base should cover nearly any meteor power that was conceivable, and if not, he was good at just going with the flow of things, never giving up, and in the end, succeeding.

"I'm stubborn," Harry told her. "I like knowing that I'm in control of things and I've been trying to keep in touch with too much. Today has been a revelation and I'm going to change a few things. First, what do you say to _me_ teaching you how to use your gift?"

The beginnings of hope appeared in her eyes as she looked at him. The rational part of her mind then kicked in and she ducked her head. "It would just be a waste of time. You don't have to do that," she told him.

"Tough," Harry told her with a small smile. "I think it would be a better use of my time to do more at the lab," he told her. "And teach people how to use their powers. I think I could do that pretty well."

"Really?" she asked, the hope returning to her eyes.

Harry nodded, "I've taught people before, and they all said good things about me." He paused, looking thoughtful. "Most of them," he conceded. No man could please everyone and he had a tendency to get on the wrong side of certain personality types.

"You sure?" she asked again.

Harry nodded, positive of his decision. "Yeah." He paused. "Do you want to tell me about what happened today?" he asked, his voice as comforting as he could make it.

She shuddered slightly and Harry rubbed her arm slightly. She froze for a moment but then relaxed into the sensation. "The lights went out, 'cause of Evan I think." She sighed, "I stopped, 'cause that's what I'm told you have to do if the power goes out." She paused. "I could see just fine in the dark," she continued. "I like the dark," she added. "So I kept walking."

"And the security guard stopped you?" Harry asked softly.

"He put his hand on my shoulder. I... I panicked and then..." she trailed off.

"Then your power activated," Harry completed. "The guard, did he hurt or do anything you don't think he should have?" With the power out in the building there were no security cameras to see what happened. In a city like this, it wouldn't be much a leap to think that the guard had maybe done something inappropriate. He seriously hoped not.

She shook her head quickly. "No, no, he just surprised me." He could sense nothing but honesty in her words.

"Well, I'll let him know to speak first in the future," Harry told her, relieved. "Although, if he's smart, he learned that a few hours ago." He smiled slightly. Vi didn't think it was amusing.

"After you left, where did you go?" Harry asked, moving the conversation along. "People have been out looking for hours and I was starting think the Black Van Men had gotten you."

"I'm sorry for making you worry," she told, ducking her head again. Harry mentally cursed, he hadn't been aiming to make her feel guilty.

"You don't have to apologise. I've done something like this myself," he told her, remembering something from his earlier school days.

She looked up. "What did you do?" Vi asked.

"I was thirteen," Harry told her. "And staying with my Aunt and Uncle. I didn't like them, and they didn't like me. During one of my stays there my Uncle's sister visited." He paused. "She hated me as well and one night when she'd had too much brandy she began talking about my parents, saying horrible things."

Harry smiled slightly; years later, the memory was funnier than it had been. "I got really angry and told her to shut up. I'd already exploded her brandy glass by that point." He smiled wryly and noticed that Vi was watching him curiously. "That was when she blew up."

Vi looked vaguely horrified.

"Like a balloon," Harry quickly corrected. "She inflated like a balloon, she didn't explode." Harry chuckled again as Vi relaxed, looking slightly ashamed at her reaction. He rubbed her arm again in reassurance. "She started rising into the air and after my Uncle tried to weigh her down, and given his size I'm surprised he failed, she floated out the back door and drifted away."

Vi was listening with rapt attention. "Did she ever come down?" she asked.

"She did," Harry told her. Actually, given that that had been the last time he'd ever seen, or heard mention of her, it was quite likely that she had just vanished. She hadn't even been at Vernon's trial. Given that it had been Fudge who told him what happened and that it had been fixed, it was actually highly likely that no one ever saw Marge again. Harry hummed thoughtfully as he considered that, not bothered either way.

"She deflated after a few hours and landed in a field a few miles away," he lied, not knowing if that actually happened. "That was when I ran away."

"You did?" she asked quietly. "Where did you go?"

"London," Harry told her. "We didn't live far away from there. I'd been there a couple of years before and it was the only place I really knew, other than school."

"Did you ever go back?" she asked.

Harry chuckled mirthlessly. "Through reasons too complicated, and illegal, to explain, I went back there every summer until I turned seventeen."

"Why?" she asked, not understanding why someone would go back to a home like that.

Harry didn't want to lie, but he couldn't tell the truth either. "Let's just say it was for my protection, and yes, I can see how that would be difficult to believe."

"You're not going to explain?" she asked, frowning slightly.

Harry stayed silent for a moment. "Ask me again when you're sixteen," he told her. That was the earliest age she could legally sign a magical contract in this country.

She sighed, but nodded in understanding.

"Thank you," Harry told her. He felt his stomach rumble and realised that if _he_ was hungry, Vi was likely starving. "How about we get something to eat?" he asked her.

"Do we have to go back to the lab?" she asked, worry in her voice.

Harry shook his head. "Not if you don't want to. How about we just get a hotdog or something?" She nodded once and Harry helped her to her feet.

**OoOoOoOoO**

'_Metropolis really needs a park,' _Harry thought to himself as he and Vi sat atop a twenty storey building. Other than in a restaurant, there was nowhere in the city to just _sit_. This had led to the dilemma of _where_ to sit when eating their lunch and _that_ had led Harry to Apparating to the seat with the best view nearest the hotdog vendor.

Vi seemed happier now than she was earlier and was eagerly watching the hustle and bustle of the city below her. She sat with her legs hanging over the side of the building. Having been extremely hungry Harry had bought them both large lunches at _Famous Franks, _a hotdog place that Lois swore by. Vi had already finished her first and was well onto her second. They sat in silence, Vi watching and Harry thinking.

His ringing phone startled him slightly; not due to the ringing, but the fact that he'd forgotten to tell anyone that he'd found Vi. Closing his eyes and cursing under his tongue at his own absentmindedness, he stood, pulling the phone from his pocket. It was another voicemail from Lois.

That couldn't be good. He was aware that he had five now.

Deciding to put off his execution by an irate friend, he called Jenny first. In the corner of his vision he saw Vi pretend that she wasn't trying to listen in to what he was going to say. Making it easier for her, he sat back down beside her and gave her a knowing look.

"Do you have an update?" Jenny asked without preamble.

"Hello to you too," Harry responded dryly, glancing in the direction of Marauder Tower. They were only a few blocks away from it and he could see his office window from here, as well as the large letters that decorated the roof.

"You found her," Jenny sighed in relief.

Harry frowned, glancing back to his office window. His right eye became black as he used his falcon form eyes to look at the window. Was she watching them? There was no one there. "I never said that," Harry told her.

"You've stopped panicking," Jenny informed him. "If you hadn't found her, you wouldn't have made your _hello _comment."

"I wasn't panicking," Harry protested. He glanced at Vi for a moment. "I was merely worried."

"I'll take your word for it," Jenny responded dryly. "Is she alright?" Jenny asked before he could retort.

"She's fine," Harry told her. He glanced at Vi and changed his mind. "Should she eat any more she might explode though," he commented, watching the violet haired girl finish a second large hotdog. He'd barely eaten half of his. She smiled somewhat sheepishly.

"I think I'll call off the search teams then," she responded with a small laugh. "I'm glad to hear she's alright."

"You and me both," Harry told her.

"That reminds me," she suddenly said. "Your friend Lois called looking for you. I told her you were in meetings."

"She called the office?" Harry asked. She must have really wanted to get a hold of him. "What was she calling about? I've not been able to answer any of her calls today."

"Apparition plays havoc with cell phones, I know," Jenny told him, unaware that he was an animagus. "Lois didn't specify what the problem was, merely saying, and I quote, _'It hasn't gone nuclear yet, but if you hear from Harry let him know that we could possibly use his help.' _She then shouted at someone called Smallville."

"Clark," Harry muttered with a nod.

"With you out of contact and obviously busy, I had a member of Division-M to make sure everything was alright in Smallville," Jenny told him. Division-M was the magical section of _Orion Security_, a subsidiary of MI.

"Thank you," Harry told her, pleased that she had done something. "Everything was alright?" he half-asked, knowing that if something had gone wrong Jenny would have told him by now.

"A GME had been kidnapping students from the year book. Five people were taken before the situation was resolved. From what I can gather, your friends Chloe and Lana were taken."

"They're alright?" Harry asked quickly. Vi looked over in concern.

"They're alright, your friends saved them." She sighed. "I regret to tell you though that were was one casualty."

"Who?" Harry asked with a heavy sigh.

"A girl called Haley Timmonds," Jenny told him.

Though he hadn't spoken to her much at school, he knew who she was. She was one of the girls that Lois actually _liked_ at the Talon, despite the girl being a cheerleader. Harry closed his eyes and cursed. Although he could acknowledge that even if he was there it might have still happened, he couldn't help but feel guilty. "And the meta-human?" Harry asked.

"Dead," Jenny told him. "According to the report I have, his power backfired. Apparently he could turn people into wax models. He fell and shattered upon impact with the floor. The pieces have been retrieved and sent to the lab."

Harry rubbed his eyes tiredly. "Thank you Jenny," he told her, shutting off his phone and placing it on the ground beside him.

"What's wrong?" Vi asked. For a moment, he'd forgotten he wasn't alone up here.

"Just some trouble back home," he told her.

"From someone like me?" she asked.

"I guess you could say that," Harry told her. Being a GME herself, she was already aware of what could potentially happen to her.

"Are your friends ok?" she queried.

"Thankfully," Harry replied, lapsing into silence for a minute, watching the city chaotic city below them. "This place could really use a park," Harry mused, vocalising an earlier thought.

"It would only get wrecked," Vi told him cynically. "I bet they had a park here at one point. All big cities have them, don't they?"

"Yeah," Harry mused, staring out into the city.

**OoOoOoOoO**

He had spent several hours up on that rooftop with Vi, just chatting. It turned out that she was only really talkative when she was frightened or nervous. When she relaxed she became quiet, sticking to small sentences. Nevertheless, Harry continued talking with her and after almost an hour she opened up a bit to him. She scarcely talked about her childhood, or anything short of her recent past, but Harry understood that.

She was a good kid and he was looking forward to trying to help her with her powers. From a few things she said, he already had an idea of how he'd managed, as well as how everyone else had failed so far.

After slightly over three hours on the roof, Harry Apparated the girl home. Her foster mother had looked quite smug at Harry, saying he needn't have worry and she'd come home eventually. Once again, he barely resisted hexing her. He'd been choosing between three separate hexes when Vi had almost pushed him out the door. The look on her face told him she was aware that he was planning something. He'd have to think of something else later on.

He returned home at just after 4pm and wasn't all that surprised to find that Lois was out. Not having seen her, or spoken to her, since this morning, he owed her a phone call. Tiredly, he dropped down on his couch, pulling out his already dialling phone. He placed it on the arm rest of the chair and laid his head back.

"Lane," his friend answered. Due to the loud noise in the background, her voice was raised.

"Just calling to see where you were," Harry told her. "What is that noise?" he asked, trying to decipher the buzzing noise in the background.

"Chloe and I are at the Talon with what's probably your entire graduating class," Lois told him.

"Ah," Harry said. "That explains that then."

Lois moved away from the main body of noise to a quieter part of the Talon. "Mrs. K says she's never seen this place as busy. By the way, there's a lot of people looking for you here."

"Um, why?" Harry asked tensely. People asking for him was never a good sign.

"Year books," Lois told him.

"That didn't answer the question Lois," Harry told her in confusion.

"You've not seen the finished copy yet, have you?" Lois asked. He could _hear _her smile.

"Other than giving a paragraph about myself to the year book editor, I've not heard anything," Harry told her honestly.

"I'd blame Chloe if I were you," Lois told resolutely. "You coming down to the Talon?"

"I'm just outside," Harry told her, getting to his feet and Apparating to the Talon's back alley. "See you in a second." He hung up and walked into the packed coffee shop. All the seats were occupied and people were actually standing around drinking their coffee. Most of them from his year were carrying year books. He had to push his way through the crowd to find her Chloe and Lois sat. Chloe waved him over as she spotted him, just as Lois sat back down at the table.

"Harry! I didn't know you were back," Chloe told him brightly, appearing to be in a good mood, despite the day she'd had. It was remarkable how quickly Clark, Lana and Chloe were able to recover after days like these.

"Just got back in," Harry told. "Lois says you're to blame for something regarding me," Harry told her with a side glance at his brunette friend. "Any idea what?"

Chloe smiled in an innocent sort of way that was ruined by her twinkling eyes. "It wasn't _my_ idea, per se, but... I might have been the one to make the final decision?"

"What did you..." he was interrupted mid speech.

Brent Matthews, a guy from his auto shop class he spoke with once in a while, tapped him on the shoulder. "Hey man. Sign my year book?" he asked, handing Harry an open year book and a marker pen. He caught sight of Chloe's grin moments before he caught sight of the picture in the book.

A photo of himself, perched on his MV Augusta, grinning at the camera. His hair was as windswept as it had ever been after a Quidditch game and he looked as though he was having the time of his life. It was the sort of picture the Daily Prophet would have paid their weight in gold for during one of his many _popular _stages; it was the type of pictures his fan girls liked. Underneath was a caption.

'_Most likely to break a land speed record.'_

Harry blinked a few times as he looked at the picture before signing. "Sure Brent," Harry told him, signing his name across the picture in fluid motion that only famous people could really emulate. He'd signed a few autographs in life.

"That was an awesome day, man!" Brent told him with a grin. He nodded his thanks and walked off to where his mates were standing.

"See that Evans, you're famous!" Lois told him with wicked grin. Harry just glanced at her.

"You know, I never did hear the story behind that photo," Chloe told him, looking at him inquiringly.

Harry smiled, "Just guys being guys," he told her, not offering any further information. Another student approached him and he signed his second year book with a practiced smile.

"That was your test to see how fast you could make it from Metropolis to Smallville, right?" Lois asked.

"Yeah, was just a fun day," Harry told her with a nod

"What time did you do it in?" Chloe asked curiously.

Harry was about to shrug when someone clapped him on the shoulder. "Twenty minutes, dude. Twenty minutes." He sounded very proud.

"Michael," Harry muttered, as another guy from auto shop stopped by their table. He hadn't planned on telling Chloe that. "Sign your year book?" he asked in resignation.

"Yeah, man," he said, passing the book over to Harry who signed it. Michael walked away, grinning to himself, "Twenty minutes," he muttered again as he wandered off.

"You made it from Metropolis to Smallville in _twenty minutes_?" Chloe asked, her voice strained.

"Maybe?" Harry said with a grin. He had.

"That's an average speed of what, 170mph?" she asked in disbelief.

"165mph," Harry corrected. "And I don't do it often."

"That's insane!" Chloe told him incredulously. "_Why_ did you do that?"

He did it because he did. Whilst he wasn't an adrenalin junkie, he was close. He got a _fix_ from his battle practices, both magical and non-magical, but the rush he'd only gotten from Quidditch could be achieved on his bike. Harry just shrugged at Chloe's question.

"Men," she muttered to herself rolling her eyes.

"So I heard you two had an interesting day," Harry commented, changing the subject.

"Heard about that did you?" Chloe asked, her face darkening slightly.

Harry looked at Lois, "Jenny passed on your message. Sorry I couldn't get here."

Lois shrugged. "Smallville and I had it handled," she told him. "He was just worried that you'd been taken as well." He could tell she'd also been worried.

"Why?" Harry asked, nabbing a chair from an empty table.

"You know Brendan Nash, right?" Chloe asked.

"You're photographer friend," Harry said. In Smallville High, _everyone_ knew Brendan. He was one of those people that everyone liked.

"The psycho was kidnapping people from the _'Most likely to' _page for his very own nightmare doll house," Lois told him bitingly.

"He was the one?" Harry asked in surprise. "What triggered him?" he asked.

"Triggered?" Chloe asked.

Harry blinked, having forgotten he'd not mentioned _that_ discovery to them yet. He was about to shake his head and revise his question when he remembered that Chloe was a meta-human as well. She deserved an explanation, even if he wasn't going to tell her about her _elite_ status in the evolutionary hierarchy. "It's only a theory just now," he told her.

"But what the scientists at _Prometheus_," he lowered his voice when saying the labs name, "theorise is that when someone is given enough exposure to meteor rocks that they developed powers, a toxin is released into the brain. They're having trouble mapping it, but it's almost a verifiable fact that the meteor exposed only turn, well, psychotic after a highly emotional or traumatic experience."

"Wow," Chloe muttered. "That actually makes some sense."

"So you're saying that not _all _of them go psycho on their friends?" Lois asked.

"I know a few meta-humans that have been exposed since the day of the meteor shower. Most of them don't have anything more than a speeding ticket." It was very much true, and hopefully it would help convince Chloe, when he _did_ tell her what she was, that she wouldn't go insane, like her mother had. Hopefully, when PLabs did find a way to map the meteor rock chemicals in the brain, they'd be able to find a cure for the side-effect.

"Huh," Chloe muttered.

"So what triggered him?" Harry asked again.

"He was rejected from all the college's he applied to," Chloe told him. "I guess he was scared at what life would be like outside of school."

Harry frowned. Had he known Brendan was a GME he would have done something. At the very least he'd have gotten him a job, and he knew that MI had some pull at Met. U. He could have...

"Don't tell me you're feeling guilty?" Lois asked in surprised.

Harry sighed, "If I'd known..."

She shrugged and cut him. "No use crying over spilt milk. Learn from it."

Harry scoffed at Lois' _sage_ advice. "And do what?" he asked rhetorically.

"I don't know," Lois told him. "You do all this non-profit stuff in Metropolis. Set up a place that allows them to come to you. That way, you won't feel guilty about things you have no reason to be guilty about."

Harry looked at her in surprise. He hadn't actually considered setting up something where the meteor-exposed tracked _them_ down for help. No one had. He'd been finding them like Hogwarts found muggleborns, giving them an offer to help master their abilities. He hadn't considered reversing it. It would need to be advertised online, and the details would have to be clear to those in the know, but vague to everyone else…

"Huh," he muttered, a proverbial bulb lighting up over his head.

"Wow, Lois," Chloe said, impressed. "That was almost profound."

Lois grinned proudly, knowing that her toss away suggestion had been a good one. "You'll find I'm full of surprises," Lois told them.

"You are," Harry whispered watching her closely.

He missed Chloe's smile

**OoOoOoOoO**

He sat on his bed, deep in a meditative stance. His eyes were shut and his breathing controlled. Today had been a long day and after staying at the Talon until closing time, he was finally taking some well needed rest. Tomorrow he graduated and, as the school career advisors kept telling people, the rest of his life would begin.

It would be weird, Harry mused. There was a good chance he'd move out of this house and into his penthouse at the top of Marauder Tower. Having pretty much settled what _career_ he was going into it, working at PLabs, it would be problematic for him to commute 55 miles a day just to get to work, not unless he could convince Alicia to teleport him every once in a while and use that as an excuse as to how he travelled.

Regardless, he'd deal with the problem when it came. If he had to guess, Jenny would have already have a few scenario's planned out for him; she was good at that.

In his trance he felt a tingling at the edge of his consciousness. Confused, he quickly brought himself out of his mediation. Closing his eyes again, he sought out what the feeling was.

His eyes snapped open.

One of his wards had just been tripped.

One of his _magic detection_ wards.

The one he'd placed at the Talon in case Lana was ever possessed again.

He snapped to his feet, shifted into a combat stance and Apparated.

Isobel Theroux was back.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _Let me know what you though of the chapter. While my Beta liked it, he felt as though it was just a very long filler piece of little importance (or something like that...). Let me know._

_P.S. For those that may get concerned the British will be invading, or anything similar to that, relax. That will never be the focus of one of my stories, despite infrequent looks back..._


	32. Witch

**AN:** _Short chapter for you lot today. Shortest in a while. It's all important though. Wrote this chapter twice. Wasn't happy with the first one._

_With new priorities at work, my time for writing has been cut a bit, so we'll see how that affects the turning of worlds..._

_Enjoy, and __**please**__ review!_

_P.S. Thanks to Warslasher for beta'ing this, and thanks to Pagancross for the 100__th__ review in the last chapter; that's only the second time that's happened._

**Chapter 32 – Witch**

_(Thursday 2__nd__, June, 2005)_

With a _clap_ that almost sounded like thunder Harry Apparated into the Talon apartment, giving no thought as to who might see him. He only allowed himself a second of observation before he acted, remembering his one and only encounter with the dead French witch. Lana, clearly possessed was straddling a roughed-up Genevieve Teague, a sharp glinting object in her hand, ready to bring it down against the older woman's chest. Upon his arrival she looked up, her eyes narrowing.

'_Expelliarmus!' _Harry silently cast, jabbing his right hand towards her. She acted quickly.

"Assero!" she cast, her voice confident and powerful. Her hand shone purple and the spell was stopped.

'_Stupefy, Diffindo, Reducto, Stupefy!' _Harry cast again. He couldn't use lethal spells on the witch possessing Lana, but that didn't mean he couldn't use damaging magic against her.

"Murus! Caecus!" Isobel returned at the same moment, both hands shining ominously purple. She ducked two of Harry's spells, shielded the third and silently summoned Genevieve Teague into the path of the fourth. Jason's mother was thrown backwards by the force of the spell.

Harry dropped to one knee to avoid the _pain_ curse and rolled to his right to avoid the _blinding _curse. Both missed Harry by inches and with a sharp _bang_ that surprised Harry, crashed into the wall behind him. He swore, knowing he couldn't fight to his full potential while someone possessed his friend.

'_Diffindo, Inclino fera, Diffindo, Protego, Diffindo!' _Harry cast, using his left hand to cast a transfiguration spell at a nearby table and shield himself from Isobel.

The table transformed into a large black dog that lunged for the witch. Caught off guard by the sudden switch in the type of magic being cast, the dog managed to latch onto her left arm, tugging her hard to her left. She screamed as the dogs razor sharp teeth ripped into her flesh. Harry's next two spells missed due to the dog pulling Isobel off balance.

She recovered quickly, banishing the dog at Harry, casting several more spells. Hurriedly vanishing the airborne dog, Harry missed one of Isobel's curses. It caught him in the left shoulder, cutting him deeply. He gritted his teeth, ducking as another spell was cast towards him, returning it with three of his own. The spells were distinctly more dangerous than his opening salvo.

Lana's couch exploded in a white cloud of stuffing and feathers, covering Isobel. A fireball from Harry ignited the material still in the air. A burst of water from Harry's right palm quickly put out the growing flames and struck the possessed girl in the chest. "Avis auster!" Harry cast loudly, ducking and casting half a dozen stunning spells.

Isobel was barely able to destroy the mass of birds heading her way. The six stunners caught her in the chest, throwing her into the wall behind her and knocking her out.

Still kneeling on the ground from his last barrage of spells, Harry laughed in relief. Isobel was down. He'd beaten her this time. Slowly getting to his feet, he tried to gain control of his breathing, taking deep breaths to calm his racing heart. He winced slightly as the movement caused his left shoulder to sting.

Ripping away the remains of his damaged shirt, he inspected the damage Isobel had done to him. He sighed in relief; it wasn't too bad and he'd had a _lot _worse. He _hissed_ a Parcel healing spell and the wound slowly healed. It wasn't perfect and there would be a small scar, but by now his body looked like a scratching post and in a week Harry doubted if he'd be able to tell which scar Isobel had been responsible for.

Cleaning the blood from his torso he vanished his ruined shirt and conjured a new one. He buttoned it up slowly as he looked around the room.

It was in utter ruin.

Both windows had been blown out and there was a huge crack in the furthest wall. Almost all the furniture in the room was destroyed. Large splinters from kitchen cabinets and glass from broken glasses littered the floors. A small fire burned in the corner of the room..

Harry tiredly rubbed his face. How much of this was even repairable? A guess concluded that with enough power the room might look relatively normal again, but the couch was a complete loss.

He sighed again and got to work cleaning. The windows were repaired first. Thankfully the glass hadn't been vaporised and the shards that were scattered across Main Street responded to a _repairing_ charm. The cracked wall was next. Harry spent the next several minutes repairing as much of the damage as he could.

When Lana was herself again she'd likely miss several glass and plates that had been destroyed beyond repair, and several electronic items such as her microwave would never work again, but everything else was alright. The sofa and cushions that had been destroyed in the battle had replicas conjured of them and Harry was confident Lana wouldn't be able to tell the difference. He made a mental note to recast the conjuration spell in the next several months, as it wouldn't do for them to simply vanish when the magic in them ran out.

After twenty minutes the room was nearly spotless. It was then that Harry remembered that the room hadn't been _this_ perfect when he'd entered, but as he wasn't sure how much Lana knew of what just happened, he left the room as it was.

As he tidied the room he'd made two startling discoveries. At some point during the fight Lex Luthor had entered the room. The battle had been fast and the details a bit hazy, but Harry was sure that Lex had been hit with the _blinding_ curse and the _pain_ curse that Harry had ducked. The man had clearly drawn a silver berretta during the fight and had gotten a shot off before being knocked unconscious. The bullet had been summoned out of the roof and the damage repaired.

With his memory modified and a compulsion charm cast, Harry sent Lex home without any knowledge of what had happened.

His second discovery had been the sharp object Isobel had been planning on killing Jason's mum with. The sharp silver object with the symbol of an _8 _encased in a diamond shaped pentangle was the third and final piece of a larger pentangle that Clark appeared to be putting together in the hidden alcove of the Kawatche caves. Cleaning off the splattering of blood that had stained the stone, Harry pocketed it for later consideration.

Now all he had to do was work out what the hell to do with Lana.

As carefully as possible, he healed the wound's he'd inflicted on Isobel. The damage done by his transfigured dog took several attempts to heal before Lana's arm looked as it had done before. He took a step back and watched Lana's unconscious form. What could he do? He needed to talk to Isobel, or at the very least, enter her mind, and find out how to end this possession.

Kneeling next to the unconscious brunette, he pried open her eyelids and entered her mind. With Lana having two sets of memories in her head, navigating them was proving difficult as Isobel's memories seemed to have blended with Lana's. The drastic change in the era each girl lived help him to distinguish if he was in Lana's memories or Isobel's; the two girls looked so similar that he doubted he could have told them apart if they had stood side by side.

He found early childhood memories of Isobel. He saw her being taught by her mother on how to use her magic, he saw Isobel's sister, the girl he knew he was a direct descendant of. He watched as Isobel became more powerful, her thirst for knowledge overpowering her restraint. He saw as Isobel completed several Dark rituals, increasing her strength three-fold, and he felt her excitement as she used her new powers.

He witnessed her meeting Gertrude Malfoy and how the older woman manipulated Isobel into searching for _'The Stones of Knowledge' _with a promise to share the knowledge after Isobel used her incredible power to discover them.

He felt Isobel's anger as she realised that Gertrude had betrayed her and he witnessed Isobel creating her Horcrux, killing Gertrude's youngest son in cold blood to do so. He felt her fear as the spell went wrong, trapping all of her power inside her spell book. He felt no fear as he witnessed Isobel and her friends being readied to be burnt at the stake.

Isobel's excitement at being shown her spell book for the last time raced through him and he felt her thoughts as her plan for revenge came to mind.

"_In my book. There's a page marked," Isobel told her executioner. The fool was blinded by greed and truly thought she would help __**him**__; he who would ignite the pyre beneath her feet._

_The man retrieved her book from nearby. She felt her power sealed inside and knew that if she could just touch it she could escape. Though Wilkins was not a smart man, he was not stupid either. He would give her no chance to touch the book. Another plan sprung to mind._

"_What means this?" Wilkins asked as he opened the page marked with a feather. The marked page showed the Rune for Transference. That one symbol would be her chance to be reborn._

"_It means that the stones of power shall be mine and once I possess them, you shall tremble at my feet and never again persecute my kind," Isobel cackled. The look of fear that crossed Wilkins face made her grin. Biting down hard on her lip she spat blood onto the symbol._

"_Animum remitto!" she cast as her life force splashed on the page. The rush of magic was orgasmic and she threw her head back in ecstasy. The magic flooded into her, branding the Transference Rune to her lower back. The magic and her intent was pure and she __**knew **__that her magic had done as she wished. She would rise again and then, revenge would be hers. _

Having seen enough Harry pulled back out of Lana's mind, collapsing to the floor and breathing deeply. He now knew what Lana had done _and_ how to undo it.

A combination of a badly cast Horcrux, Blood magic and incredible power was what had allowed Isobel to be reborn. The Horcrux held her soul, the Blood magic and power enabled her to possess a descendant of her blood line. It was truly impressive magic and Isobel had been extremely lucky that it had even worked. With what Harry had read in the Dark Magic books he'd been researching due to this possession, Isobel had been unbelievably lucky not to cause an explosion with enough force to wipe out several miles of property.

Such volatile magic could not be undone though. If he tried he had an equal chance of either killing himself, Lana, or both. The only way to undo the spell was to complete the mission Isobel had sought for herself; ending Gertrude's family line. It didn't take him long to realise that he either had to kill Genevieve and Jason, or kill Lana.

It wasn't much of a choice. He would have preferred a better solution, but Harry knew the world didn't work like that. Sacrifices were _always_ required, no matter what you were doing.

Pushing himself to his feet he walked over to Genevieve. "Sorry," Harry apologised to the unconscious woman, lifting his hand and casting the same _Heart Attack _spell he's used to save Lucy Lane back in March. The spell struck the woman in the chest and she died without a sound.

Magic rose sharply behind him. He twisted around, fully expecting to find a fully conscious and pissed off Dark witch. A _Stunner_ was cast before he'd even fully turned. It uselessly crashed again the wall behind him. Lana was still lying on the floor, white light rushing off her in waves. Her body arched and a phantom wind blew through the room. Harry stood, poised for battle

As quickly as the wind and light began, it ended. Harry didn't move.

On the floor Lana groaned, rubbing her head. "What happened?" she muttered, rolling to her side. Harry immediately noticed that the Runic tattoo was gone from her lower back. Eyes widening in shock upon realising that Isobel had already disappeared, Harry remembered the dead body lying behind him. Turning quickly he transfigured Genevieve's body into a large cushion. Summoning it to him, he turned it into a Portkey and sent it away.

He quickly moved to his friend's side. "Lana, are you alright?" Harry asked quickly, in genuine concern. A look into her eyes showed that all signs of possession and magic had vanished. Why had Isobel vanished? Was Jason Teague already dead?

"Harry?" Lana asked groggily. Despite healing her she'd still be sore for the next few days. "W-what happened?" she asked, looking fearfully around the room.

Pressing slightly into her mind, he knew she didn't remember anything beyond her boyfriend's mother attacking her. Harry made up a lie on the spot. "Jason's mum attacked you," Harry told her, helping her into a sitting position. "I was walking passed and I saw her through the apartment window. She had a gun in her hand." He sighed, wondering if a day would ever come where he wouldn't have to lie.

"When I got in she was strangling you. I knocked her off and she bolted. You must have passed out." The lie came easily to him and even though Lana was confused she clearly believed him. That made him feel worse.

"She attacked me," Lana told him, remembering what had just happened. "I... I can't really remember."

"What happened before she attacked you Lana?" Harry asked, helping her to her feet and steering her towards the new couch he'd had to conjure for her. She was unsteady on her feet.

Lana frowned in remembrance. "She wanted something from me..." Lana told him. As she remembered, her eyes widened in despair. She looked around the room, scanning the floor for what Harry had stashed in his pocket. She pushed herself to her feet. "Can you see a silver stone lying around anywhere?" Lana asked him, desperation leaking into her voice. Lana looked for the stone while Harry made a token attempt to find what he was already in possession of.

He had no intention of telling Lana that he had the metal shard. He knew who that shard was for and it wasn't Lana.

"Do you think she took it when she ran?" Harry asked.

"I... I don't know," Lana told him shakily. "She must have," Lana rationalised. Harry winced slightly at the emotion in her voice. She was clearly upset that it was gone.

"I'm sorry," Harry apologised. "I was just worried about you."

"It's fine," Lana told him. "Thank you for saving me."

Harry shrugged off her thanks; he didn't need it and in this case, he certainly didn't want it. "Sure," he told her. "What was it she took?" Harry asked, unable to help himself.

"It was, it was a family heirloom," Lana told him uneasily. "Mrs. Teague had been trying to buy it off me but I wouldn't sell it. I guess she decided to just take it."

Though not showing it, Harry was impressed with the cover story. With Isobel's search for the Shards, it wasn't really that far off the truth. "Well, we can call the police in the morning," he told her. "I'm sure you'll get it back soon."

Lana sighed, doubting his idea. "Thanks Harry."

He nodded uncomfortably. "Are you sure you're alright?" Harry asked.

"Yeah," Lana told him untruthfully. "Just tired. It's been a long day."

Harry nodded; Lana had been attacked twice today. "I know what you mean," he told her. He stood up, feeling quite uncomfortable just sitting here. There were too many lies in the air. "I'll leave you to get some rest," Harry told her. "With Graduation tomorrow, it's another long day."

"Yeah," Lana agreed, looking quite distracted.

"Call me if you need anything, alright?" Harry told her sincerely. He wished he could do more to help her, but Lana was safe from Isobel and she didn't expect that anything else had gone wrong. A good night's sleep and she'd be fine in the morning. She was good at bouncing back from events such as this.

"I'll be fine," Lana promised him.

"Yeah," Harry told her. She would be for now.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Lana Lang)_

She stood as Harry moved towards the door of her apartment. He looked uncomfortable, which for Harry was a rare thing. "Are you alright?" she asked. He'd apparently disappeared due to an emergency in Metropolis earlier today, but he hadn't said anything about it.

He chuckled. "You're asking _me_ that?" Harry asked with an ironic smile.

"You looked worried," Lana told him. He hadn't mentioned anything about his day at the Talon. Everyone had been so focused on year books and tomorrow's graduation to ask him what had happened.

The smile disappeared. "You were just attacked Lana," Harry told her seriously, "and kidnapped before that. I just... I don't like seeing my friends in danger."

She accepted that answer; that was just who Harry was. He protected those that needed protecting, no matter what he was against. The school bullies had found that out quickly. He also felt guilty when he wasn't around for something he _felt _he should be there for, such as his friends being kidnapped.

"I'm fine Harry," Lana told him again, wondering if he'd believe her _this _time. "Chloe and I had Clark to save us from Brendan and you were here to help me from Mrs. Teague." She didn't _like_ being rescued, but knew enough about her limits to know that sometimes she needed it.

Harry winced, but she attributed it to him not being around earlier in the day. She didn't quite understand how she'd become close friends with another guy with a _Hero Complex_, but Harry was so similar to Clark in that regard.

"Yeah, I guess," Harry told her. He yawned. "It's been a long day and we both need some sleep," he told her.

"I know, Graduation tomorrow," she said with a smile. It was something she'd been looking forward to for years; it was her ticket out of this town.

"Fun," Harry muttered sarcastically. He already had his life sorted, so tomorrow probably didn't mean that much to him.

"It will be," Lana argued.

He grinned at her, his eyes showing that he didn't think so. "Get some sleep Lana. I'll see you tomorrow."

"Night Harry," she said. He turned and walked out the door.

As the door closed Lana walked across to her bed, tiredly shrugging off her jacket and throwing it in a corner. She sat on her bed and pulled off her boots before falling back on the bed and letting out a weary sigh, worn out but utterly glad that _this_ day was ending. She stared up at the ceiling, wondering just what she'd done to deserve everything that was happening to her.

Kidnapped by a freak and attacked by her by boyfriends mom? What could she have done to deserve that? Had her parents dying in front of her eyes, or regularly being attacked by the paranormal not been enough for her? She supposed it was just typical Smallville luck that the day before graduation would be hell. At least _now_ she had a chance to get out of this small town and make her mark on the world.

She didn't know how she was going to face Jason when she saw him tomorrow. He had been scaring her lately, keeping a lot of secrets and acting strangely. What would he do if she told him that his mom had attacked her? Would he even believe her? Though she was sure that he loved her, he _was_ his mother's son.

She wrapped her arms around her stomach in a self-hug. She was worried and confused and she didn't know what to do. The thought that Mrs. Teague had taken the stone Jason had taken from China worried her. She _knew_ the stone meant something; that it was important and powerful, and on some level, she knew who it was really meant for.

She felt a tingling sensation in her chest and hands, almost like pins-and-needles. She sat up, rubbing her hands together, trying to get rid of the feeling. It didn't do anything. The sensation increased and she began to feel a burning sensation in her chest. She began to panic, looking around, not sure what was happening or what she could do. Was it heart burn, a heart attack?

Pain ripped through her body. Her head shot back, her back arched and she screamed. The lights in the apartment flickered and the bulbs soon shattered, raining glass around the room.

As quickly as it began, everything stopped.

Lana lay on the floor of her room, breathing heavily, wondering just what had happened. Her body was still tingling, but now it was only unpleasant, not painful.

She pushed herself up so that she was resting on her knees and crawled onto her bed. She lay there for a minute, thinking quickly about what happened. What had caused the pain? Was there something wrong with her?

The tingling feeling increased again. She closed her eyes tightly, curling into a ball, waiting for the pain to strike again.

It didn't.

What she felt next was the purest feeling of bliss and _power_ she'd ever felt in her life. The sensation raced through her body. Her mouth opened in a silent scream of pleasure. It felt as though it lasted for a lifetime. Eventually, the feeling subsided, leaving her panting on her bed, overwhelmed by the situation.

And just like that the feeling disappeared, just as the pain had moments ago.

Her eyes slowly opened.

They were glowing purple.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(Lex Luthor)_

He walked through the mansion with determination, quickly reaching his office. Entering the large lavish room he made his way to his expensive metal and glass desk and sat down on his comfortable chair. He blinked. Reality snapped back into place. He looked around in confusion.

_What just happened?_

He checked his watch and frowned. He'd left for the Talon almost forty minutes ago, taking three minutes to get there and back. He'd spent maybe four minutes inside the Talon. Why then was he missing twenty five minutes? Thinking hard, he knew there were no discrepancies in his memory. Had he suffered a mental relapse? After his sanity issues a couple of years back, he hadn't had any episodes. No, _he _was fine.

_What did Dad do to me?_

Only his father could be behind this. The man was pretending to be reformed, hosting charity events to feed the poor, and shelter the homeless. Lex knew it was an act; he just hadn't worked out what game his father was playing yet, or the rules to it. The man had killed his own parents in an explosion and, last year, had poisoned his only son in a rash effort to stop himself from going to prison. A man like that did not suddenly become a Saint overnight. He was up to something.

He would need a medical examination to make sure he hadn't been poisoned again, or that his father hadn't done anything else to him in the last twenty five minutes. He also needed to get his memory back. Perhaps it would hold some clues as to what his father was planning. In the morning he would inquire at Summerholt and see if he still had some pull with the Board of Directors, despite them being under a new owner.

Standing up, he shrugged off his jacket, hanging it over the back of his chair and pulling his 9mm out from the waist band of his trousers. He placed the gun on his desk and sat back down, making plans.

He had kept a Shadow on his father since the man had bribed his way out of prison, but Lionel Luthor was too smart. If there was one thing his father was good at, it was covering his tracks and the man was able to avoid the men he had sent to tail him with disturbing ease. He would get no information out of them. There was already a chance his father had paid them off.

Some called him paranoid and overcautious, but with Lionel Luthor as a father, it was necessary.

He sighed angrily; he didn't like being out of the loop or being steps behind an opponent. It was usually _he_ who was running things, but lately, things weren't going to plan.

His father bribing his way out of prison hadn't been entirely unexpected, but everything else he was dealing with continued to be.

In the last year he'd lost track of _two _of the ancient relics that had been hidden around the globe. He'd spent a fortune searching Egypt for the first one, risking his health to do so. Losing it an hour later had been a heavy blow.

Losing track of the second relic in China had been just as bad. He had been _so close_ to getting his hands on it, only to lose it in the eleventh hour. He still wasn't sure what had happened. He was suspicious of Jason, but after an exhaustive search, he'd found nothing.

He was also dealing with the latest travesty brought upon him by _Marauder Industries_. Ignoring the embarrassment of _MI _buying the controlling shares in Summerholt, something he had never been able to do, the _still _expanding company was lobbying to get approval to build their new Headquarters in _his_ city.

The building was a monstrosity, over a hundred storey's tall, exceeding the height of LuthorCorp Plaza. Although the design of the building _was _impressive, he couldn't have _MI _succeed in building it. Stopping the planning permission had taken up a solid two weeks of work, and he'd yet to accomplish anything.

_Maybe my memory loss is due to stress?_

No. He'd been through worse times, suffered a lot more. His father _had _done something to him.

He stood, moving over to his wet bar. He poured a large glass of Scotch. After sampling the aged drinks aroma and taking a small taste to make sure it hadn't been poisoned, he downed the rest of the glass, grimacing as it burned his throat. He filled it again and moved back to his chair.

Lex rapped his fingers on his desk as he tried to think of a plan or a solution to any one of his problems. It was then he noticed his gun. With dozens of attempts made on his life since he'd taken a job at LuthorCorp, he'd needed a gun on more than one occasion and because of that he always kept the silver Beretta in pristine condition.

Only, it wasn't in pristine condition now.

It had been fired recently.

Lex picked up the gun, discharging the magazine and the bullet in the chamber. One bullet was missing.

His frown increased.

_What the hell is going on?_

He was now _positive_ his father was behind this. _Something_ had happened in the last hour that had caused his to fire his gun and whatever he had witnessed had been erased from his mind.

_What did I see?_

**OoOoOoOoO**

After a quick stop at home to hide the transfigured Genevieve Teague, Harry Apparated to the Kawatche caves, appearing inside the secret alcove in one of the furthest walls. In his hand he held the small silver triangle he'd taken from Lana's apartment. He slowly walked forward to the altar in the middle of the room.

He had purposefully given this place as little thought as he was capable of. His silent agreement with Clark said that they wouldn't delve into the secrets that each knew the other was keeping. He usually hated mysteries, and surprises had a tendency to put his life in mortal peril at the worst possible times, but he trusted Clark and even more so, he didn't want _his_ secret revealed. It would take a lot for Clark to find out his birth name, but _if_ that happened, nothing good could come out of it.

Tracing a hand across the large stone altar, he wondered what this place was really for and what the purpose of the centre display was.

After rescuing Clark from Lionel Luthor's body last year, he'd been told that one of the small metal shards in the centre of the altar had switched Lionel and Clark's souls. When he had touched the stone he'd felt it burn his hand and he'd given it back to Clark who _clearly _knew what it was. He hadn't asked any further questions.

That stone rested in the centre of the altar.

There was also a second stone of near identical shape beside it. He'd first seen this stone after destroying Isobel's Horcrux. He didn't know how it had gotten here, but as the stone _he'd _held was in the altar, it was a fair bet that Clark was responsible for the other metal shard being there.

_That_ metal shard connected perfectly with the first one.

The shard in his hand was the third part of three. He wasn't stupid enough to set the shard in its rightful place in the altar, but he could clearly see that the triangle shard would complete the puzzle that Clark had begun to create.

What would happen if the three shards connected?

There was obviously something magical about them and they obviously had a purpose. Each shard had a symbol carved on it. Through some rough translating, he knew they stood for _Wind, Water _and _Fire_. What would happen if the third shard was connected with the other two?

He began to trace the symbols the altar. After connecting the Deathly Hallows and not knowing what, if anything, they had done to him, he was uneasy about this. Did Clark know what was going to happen or was he flying blind like Harry had been? Was it fate? Destiny? Was Clark _meant_ to be the keeper of these shards?

He sighed loudly and frustrated, asking himself which scenario would be worse; giving the final shard to Clark, hiding it or completing the puzzle and seeing what happened. He didn't like any of these situations. He didn't like knowing he had three paths ahead of him and not know which of those paths led to ruin.

He traced a finger across the _Water _shard. Its symbol was identical to the tattoo Lana had been given after Isobel had possessed her. What was the connection? Had Isobel simply adopted the mark as her own during her search for the shards, or was there more to this? The word _Destiny_ struck him again and he agreed that what had been happening lately was in no way coincidental.

"What will happen?" he asked aloud. As his finger traced the symbol on the second shard, his question was answered violently. The _Fire_ stone began to glow red.

Blinding pain burned through his body and Harry screamed, taken completely by surprise. He was vaguely aware of trying to pull his hand away from the altar, but it was futile; something was holding him where he was. His body began to shake as the pain increased, racing through every part of him.

Suddenly all the pain was confined to his head and he could feel something powerful, something _incredibly_ powerful, shatter through his mental shielding. His screams increased, his body shone white and his mind shut down. Harry collapsed to the floor, barely alive.

**OoOoOoOoO**

500,000 miles into space, obscured from view by the moon, a portal opened. This portal had been sealed a little over 20 years ago by a great man, but a safety protocol had been installed into the locking device that this great man never noticed. On Earth, that protocol had just been inadvertently activated.

Large chunks of rock from a destroyed planet called Krypton silently emerged. Amidst these alien rocks a pentangle shaped black ship was concealed, its destination careful programmed.

In twenty fours it would land in its pre-programmed destination.

Kansas, Earth.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	33. Meteor

**AN:** _Sorry about the late update. I've hit serious writers block and I've not written anything in almost three weeks... I'm trying to work through it, but it's a slow process. I'll do my best!_

_Hope you enjoy the chapter and __**please**__ review!_

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 33 - Meteor**

_(Friday 3rd, June, 2005)_

His first sensation upon regaining consciousness was the ringing in his ears. It was melodic and familiar and he _really_ wanted it to stop. Thankfully that was what happened. Completely aware that he'd been knocked unconscious, although as of now unsure as to why, he opened his eyes and tried to assess his situation.

His head ached, more than he'd ever imagined it could. He suffered mental torture at the hands of Voldemort and binge drinking sessions with the Weasley twins, and yet he'd _still _never felt this bad. Groaning, he slowly brought a hand up to his head. Hissing a Parcel healing spell he felt the headache recede slightly. It was still there, but he no longer felt as though Hagrid had stomped on him.

Moving slightly to make sure he hadn't been chained up somewhere, he placed an open palm on the ground and pushed himself up, curious as to _why_ he was lying on stone. He'd regained consciousness in worse places before, so he wasn't too worried just now. He hoped he wasn't in a dungeon, but if he was, well, he'd just have to wing it.

Still not cognizant enough to grasp intricate details of the situation, he pushed himself into a sitting position. He looked around blearily. As he recognised his location he frowned. Why was he in the caves?

He looked around hoping _something _here would jog his memory. A metal object a few feet away from him caught his attention. Summoning it to himself, he inspected the marking on it; a diamond shaped pentagon with the figure '8' in the centre. He traced a finger along the pattern and his mind finally caught up with his situation.

"What the hell?" Harry whispered. The last thing he remembered was touching the stone with the symbol for _Fire_ on it, and then a lot of pain. Why had it done that? He pushed himself to his feet, wincing. From how his body felt, he'd been lying out here for longer than a few minutes. He waved a hand, silently casting a _tempus _charm.

_14:36_

Harry's eyes widened. It had been _00:18 _when he'd Apparated down here. He'd been unconscious for fourteen _hours_? He blinked.

"Well isn't that perfect," he muttered. His graduation ceremony had started over two hours ago. It was just his luck that he'd missed something like that due to being rendered unconscious. He twisted his neck slightly, wincing as it audibly cracked. Rubbing his it to relieve some of the tightness, he grabbed his phone from his pocket. Looking at the display he almost dropped the phone.

_Missed calls: 89_

_Voicemails: 19_

"The hell?" Harry asked. What was going on that people needed to talk to him so badly? Pressing a couple of buttons he brought up the information on who had tried to call him. There were several from Lois, Clark, Lana, Chloe, Jenny, Zeke, Alicia, the O'Malley's and PLabs. There were even several calls from an _Unknown_ number that had called him every half hour since eleven o'clock.

What the hell had happened that made so many people try and contact him? He felt a chill run up his spine; whatever it was, it couldn't be good. Deciding he needed to talk to _someone_, he dialled the person who would likely know the most; Jenny. The phone was answered before the first ring finished.

"Where the Hell have you been?" Jenny almost shouted. He was taken aback by the panic in her voice.

"I've been unconscious since last night," Harry told her. "What the hell is going on Jenny? Why have I got 89 missed calls?"

"A meteor shower is about to rain down upon Smallville in," she paused. "Three hours."

Harry froze. "A meteor shower?" he asked again, seeking confirmation.

"Yes. It was discovered late last night by NORAD and the military have just realised that it will hit the Smallville area. The military are evacuating everyone in a 50 mile radius of the town."

"Has the town been evacuated yet?" Harry asked quickly.

"The military are trying. They only began evacuating Smallville less than an hour ago." She paused for a second. "Lois called the office line again a few minutes ago. She didn't say so, but she's worried about you."

"Damnit," Harry cursed. "I've missed a lot of phone calls from her."

"Harry, what happened to you?" Jenny asked. "Were you attacked?"

Harry considered his answer. "I'm not sure to be honest. I was investigating something and I did something I think I wasn't supposed to. I'm alright though," he promised. "Do you know what the roads out of Smallville are like?" Harry asked. "How much information do you have?"

"The military hasn't released much and word has it that Zeke hasn't been able to find out anything either." She paused. "The roads are going to be over-crowded. All the traffic is being sent towards Metropolis and only one road goes in that direction."

"Hold on," Harry told her, Apparating back to his house. The line crackled. "Do we know if this meteor shower has been caused by magic?" Harry asked.

"Unknown," Jenny told him. "Reports say that the meteor's just appeared out of nowhere, so it _is _possible, but given the range that they were detected at, it's extremely unlikely that anyone has the power to do this, even in a collective group of hundreds of people."

Harry frowned. A _Homenum Revelio _showed that no one was in the house. That was good; hopefully Lois was already on her way out of town. "Two meteor showers in, what, sixteen years, isn't normal though," Harry told her, making his way upstairs.

"There has to be something drawing them. We've both seen that there's more to the bizarre than just magic."

"And given that the meteor rocks give people powers, there might be something to that," Harry mused, reaching the top of the stairs. Checking Lois' room, he noticed that the possessions that meant the most to her were gone. He breathed out a sigh of relief; she was on her way out of town.

"Smallville seems to be a lightning rod to the supernatural," Jenny told him. "There has to be a central source to this."

Harry froze as Jenny said _Lightning_, making a horrible connection. "Jenny," Harry said with a forced calmness. "What time were the meteors detected?"

"Late last night," she told him again. "What's going on Harry?" Jenny asked, detecting the change in his tone.

"No, the _exact _time, Jenny. What was the _exact _time the meteors appeared?" he asked again, his eyes shut tight, praying the answer he _knew_ was coming was only a product of his imagination.

"Hold on, let me check," Jenny told him. Using his Occlumency skills to calm himself he awaited her answer; it was agonizing.

"It was twenty after twelve," Jenny told him. "Harry, what is going on?"

"I did this," he whispered in horror. Whatever had happened in the cave, whatever _he'd_ done in the cave had sent these meteors. It was _his_ fault that they were coming. _His _fault that Smallville was about to be destroyed. The meteors had been detected two _minutes_ after he entered the cave; it was probably the exact time he'd touched the second metal shard and fallen unconscious.

"Harry, talk to me!" Jenny almost pleaded.

No.

**No.**

This town, _his_ town, was _not_ going to be destroyed because of him. He refused to accept it. Godric's Hollow had been taken from him the night his parents died, he'd been unable to stop the Burrow from being destroyed and he'd been banned from ever going back to Hogwarts; banned from ever returning to his _home country_. He absolutely _refused_ to let the same thing happen to this town while he still drew breath.

"I've got to go, Jenny," Harry told her. "Call Zeke and let him know I'm still alive. I'll call you later."

"Harr..."

He ended the call before she could complete her protest. Sitting down on the floor outside Lois' room, he slipped deeply into his own mind, allowing him to think clearly and quickly. He ran through several ideas and came to the conclusion that he needed more information. His eyes snapped open and he brought his already dialled phone to his ear.

"Mr. Evans, it's good to hear from you. You had me worried," Gabriel Knox told him.

"What information does Solaris have on this meteor shower?" Harry asked without preamble. "What has _AngelWing_ picked up?"

"Smallville's doomsday clock is currently counting down from two hours and forty nine minutes. What other information are you looking for?"

Harry thought about the answer. "I need to know the number of meteorites that are going to hit Smallville, the angle they're going to come in at, which direction they're going to hit and if possible and where _exactly_ they'll land."

"Most of that will be impossible," Knox told him without hesitation. "At best we could perhaps give a prediction on how many would survive entering the Earth's atmosphere, but it would be a weak prediction at best; as would be where each of them will land. I _can_ tell you that the meteors will hit the town from the West and the angle of decent will _likely_ be between 50 to 70 degrees." He paused for a two count. "What are you planning?" he asked.

Harry ignored him. "I need an update the second any information changes or when you have solid facts about this, alright?" he asked.

"Harry, if you are planning to attempt..."

"Am I clear, Mr. Knox?" Harry asked again, his voice hardening and leaving no room for Gabriel to argue. There was a momentary pause.

"Yes, sir," Knox agreed. Once belonging to the military, he knew the difference between a suggestion and an order.

Harry ended the call and took a deep breath. What could he _really_ do about this? He'd heard of a ward that could be cast around a town or a castle that repelled all physical attacks, but he knew enough about wards to know that protection spells of that level required days to cast. There wasn't enough time.

With enough money and persuasion, there was a chance he could hire enough magic users to try and shoot down the meteors as they got close enough. Again, that wasn't really an option. It would undoubtedly reveal the existence of the magic world and no matter how much he wanted to save this town, the repercussions of _that_ action would likely be worse.

What he _could_ do was defend this town himself. He would need a good vantage point to start with. What strategy would he use; attack or defence? He knew dozens of spell that could help him, but which would work best? Could he shield a large portion of the town on his own? There _was_ a shield he could cast that could theoretically cover the entire town. The problem was that _that_ shield drew power from him with every impact upon it. Could he keep up that shield for the entire assault, or would he weaken too quickly?

There was a chance he could succeed, but only a small chance.

Could he destroy the meteors before they hit the ground? With the speed they were moving at, there was almost no chance.

"Is there nothing I can do?" Harry asked loudly, speaking to the gods, magic, fate, or destiny; whoever was listening to him now.

Magic pulsed from his room, almost in answer to his question. He pushed himself to his feet and followed the magic.

He felt his heart stop in his chest when he received his answer.

Could he?

Surely not.

Was it worth it?

...

Would this make his plan possible?

...

As his mind argued back and forth about this possible choice, one thing stuck out strongest.

A voice that almost sounded like Snape whispered in his mind. _"This is your fault Potter."_

He made his decision, one that would become a pivotal moment in the 21st Century.

With a flick of his wrist he dragged his bed across the hard wood floor of his bedroom. A second flick ripped a large panel of wood from the floor. It was flung carelessly aside. Taking a deep breath he walked forward, reaching into the floor and pulling out a box the size of a breadbox. The box was lead-lined and given numerous protections to stop anyone but him getting in.

Cutting one of his fingers, he allowed the freely given blood to drip onto the lock. It clicked open. Lifting the lid he stared at the three items concealed. His _Invisibility Cloak_ lay at the bottom of the pile. On top of that lay the _Resurrection Stone_, still encased in its ring.

And then there was the _Elder Wand; _something he'd vowed never to touch again.

Had he slept, he knew part of his nightmares would be about what he'd almost done after taking possession of the legendary, _unbeatable _wand. He'd gained it by besting Dumbledore in a duel and it was meant to give him the final edge he needed to vanquish Voldemort.

Instead, he'd almost won the war _for_ Voldemort.

He hadn't noticed anything changing in him, but after recovering from duelling Dumbledore he'd been entirely sure he could win the war on that day. He had the Elder Wand and as said by the Trelawney Prophecy, he _knew_ that he could defeat Voldemort. Still weak from his duel, he'd tried to leave the school, only to be accosted by Dumbledore as he tried to leave.

Dumbledore had done what he could to convince him his idea was a bad one, but he hadn't listened. He was the wielder of the _Elder Wand_; he was the _Master of Death_! He could win this war _now_ and no one else would have to die. When Dumbledore had told him that he wouldn't allow it, Harry had drawn his wand.

He shivered as he remembered that day. Could he risk taking up that wand again? Would it control him as it had done before? He still wasn't sure _why_ it happened. It had never affected Dumbledore like it had him. Maybe there had been additional circumstances to his breakdown. Dumbledore had never held all three Hallows, and it was possible that uniting them had been too powerful a force.

Could he unite them again to save his new home?

'_Yes,'_ a powerful voice in the back of his mind whispered. _'Yes, he could. Yes, he would.'_

Slowly, he lifted up the _Resurrection Stone_ and slipped the ring it was encased in onto the middle finger of his right hand. His heart raced in his chest.

Careful to avoid touching the wand, he pulled the _Invisibility Cloak _from where it had rested for over almost a year. The silk like material felt comforting in his hand.

Reaching forward again, he moved to pick up the wand. He stopped, choosing to close the lid instead. He _would_ use it, but he had things he needed to do first.

Standing, he dialled another number on his cell phone.

"Harry, are you alright?" Alicia asked quickly. There was a lot of noise in the background.

"I am now. Listen, I need to know if you can get to Smallville just now," Harry said to the teleporter, plans running through his mind.

"I'm already there Harry," she told him. "I was here because a couple of people wanted to see you graduating, but I've been looking for you for an hour now."

"Are you with anyone?" Harry asked.

"Not anyone. I brought Evan and Corinne at their request, but I took them back to the lab when the army arrived."

"Thank you," Harry told her, wondering how Vi had taken to being removed. "Do you know where Clark or Lois, or anyone is?" he asked.

"I'm not sure," Alicia told him. "Clark said he was going home to pack up some things and everyone split up. I was trying to find you."

"I want you to find Lois," Harry told her. "Or any of my other friends," he added. "And get them to Metropolis. Take them to the lab." He paused for a second. "I need you to do this even if they argue against it. If they give you a good reason to stay, let them, but if time has run out I need you to just take them."

Alicia paused for a second. It was unfair of him to ask her to essentially kidnap people, especially given her less than positive history in this town, but he'd deal with any possible aftermath once he knew his friends were going to survive the day.

"I'll try," Alicia told him.

"Thank you, Alicia. I'll owe you huge if you manage this. Please, call me if you have any updates."

"I will," she promised.

He hung up the phone and tried to decide his next move. He needed to let his friends know he was alright, but he had no plausible excuse for where he'd been for the last few hours. People didn't lose consciousness for half a day and be fine when they woke up. With Jenny and Alicia, they knew he was a wizard, they knew that these things were relatively normal when it came to him. What happened would be difficult to explain to Lois, Chloe and Lana. Clark would possibly understand, but then, Clark knew a small part of his secret. He needed time to come up with an excuse before he could call them.

Thinking of Clark brought his attention back to the silver metal shard that rested in his pocket. He held it in his hand, _knowing_ that it was important, _knowing_ that it did something, but having no idea as to _what_. As he watched the light of the room glinting off the highly polished metal, he _knew_ that Clark was meant to have it. A feeling buzzed in the back of his mind, telling him that Clark _needed_ this shard. Despite being used to his conscience talking to him in voices of people he had once known, this voice was new, foreign, powerful and almost tangible.

There was a strong desire to what the voice was telling him. Clamping down on it, he cleared his mind. What was the new voice? Did it have something to do with why he'd been knocked unconscious or was it just a new part of his subconscious mind?

He shook his head. That worry was one to have later. The question _now_ was what to do with this shard. Despite having silenced the new voice, giving Clark the shard seemed like the most logical thing to do, more so than anything else. The urge was almost overpowering. He needed to know more first.

Apparating in a hidden alcove of Clark's barn, he cast _Homenum Revelio_ and was shown that all three Kent's were in the house. He walked there quickly. Mr. Kent's red pick-up truck was almost full of possessions. Seeing the Kent's inside, he walked in without knocking.

"Harry, you're alright," Clark said in relief as he saw Harry. "What happened?" he asked with a frown.

"Are you alright, son?" Mr. Kent asked, concerned.

"I'm fine, thanks," Harry told the man. "You're ready to leave town?" he asked the man.

"We've almost packed up everything we need," Mr. Kent told him, not stopping in his work. "Do you need any help taking things from your house? I know you only have your bike," he said.

Harry shook his head. "Lois has taken most of what means a lot to her, any everything else in that house doesn't mean much to me," he told the man truthfully. He turned to his friend. "I need to speak with you outside."

"Alright," Clark agreed, his eyes showing that he knew something was up. They both walked outside and Clark shut the door behind him. "What happened?" Clark asked again. "Does Lois know you're alright? She was worried about you."

"I've not called her yet," Harry told him. "I don't have an explanation for where I've been since last night and I know she'll ask." He shook his head, getting back on topic. "Listen, I know we both have secrets about who we really are and that we both trust each other enough to respect that, but I need to know something."

"What?" Clark asked with a worried frown.

"The two metal shards in the Kawatche caves... Do you know what would happen if you added the third?" Harry asked, deadly serious. Clark winced slightly, hesitating. "I don't need a detailed answer, Clark," Harry told him. "I need to know that something horrible won't happen if you were to unite them; that whatever it is helps."

Clark still didn't answer and Harry was starting to lose his patience. By his count he only had two and a half hours until the sky rained fire, and he still wasn't entirely sure of what his game plan was. If Clark was hesitating because of his desire to keep his secret then...

"I'm not sure," Clark interrupted his thoughts. He genuinely sounded unsure. "I know that I'm meant to find them and bring them together though. I... can't explain why, but I know that I have to."

Harry watched his friend carefully, watching Clark's face very closely for any hint at deception. He had a seriously uneasy feeling about this, but there was still a nagging feeling in the dark recesses of his mind that _told_ him to give the shard to Clark. He stared at Clark until his friend became uncomfortable. Despite trusting Clark, despite the voice in the back of his mind that told him to give that Shard to Clark, he was still wary. Clark was naive and overly trusting, like he had been once upon a time. If Clark didn't know what the three Shards would do, could he trust his friend enough to let him find out?

Letting out a sharp breath of air he reached into his pocket and pulled out the _Wind_ Shard. He held it out to Clark who looked at it in undisguised shock. "Do what you have to then."

Reverently, Clark took the Shard from his hand. "Where did you get this?" Clark asked.

Harry ignored the question; it wouldn't do to tell Clark that he'd killed someone in order to get it, even if that wasn't exactly what had happened. He took a step back. "Clark, don't make me regret this," Harry told his friend, still doubting whether or not he was doing the right thing. He Disapparated away from the Kent farm before he could change his mind.

It would take some time for Harry to realise that his desire to give Clark the final Shard came from the Shards themselves, and what had been implant in his mind.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry Apparated back home, toying with his phone, trying to come up with any sort of excuse he could tell Lois to explain his absence. He was concocting a somewhat outlandish story where he had been attacked by a meta-human on his morning run when he realised that he might not have to come up with an excuse at all; there might already be one.

He dialled Jenny again, hoping she wasn't too mad that he'd hung up on her. "Harry, how can I help?" Jenny asked, thankfully not sounding upset.

"What did you tell Lois when she called? What excuse did you give her for where I was?" Harry asked.

"After I couldn't contact you I told her that you had been called into an urgent meeting and where out of contact," Jenny told him.

"And she didn't doubt it at all?" Harry asked, seeking confirmation.

"No. If she asks, the meeting was about _Prometheus, _the damage sustained and ways to make the lab safer," Jenny told him.

Harry grinned. "I definitely owe you one for that," he told her. "Thank you." He hung up before she could remember to try and stop him from doing something stupid.

He dialled Lois. She began speaking before he even got a word in. "You know, while you sit in your comfortable meetings we've got Sodom and Gomorrah Round 2 happening in Smallville."

He wasn't quite sure what that meant, but he assumed that whatever it was wasn't good. "I'm sorry Lois," Harry told her. "I've just heard about what's happened. Are you out of Smallville yet?"

"Getting there. Chloe and I are helping Uncle Gabe pack up," Lois told him.

"Lois, just get out of Smallville," Harry told her. "If anything gets damaged after today tell Gabe I'llbuy him a new house! Just leave, alright?"

"We've got time," Lois told him false calmness. "The world isn't due to end for three hours." There was a distinct note of sarcasm in her voice.

"Lois, just get out of Smallville and head towards Metropolis." He sighed heavily, "I just want you safe."

"We'll be fine, Harry," Lois told him, her voice softer. "The traffic isn't bad yet and we'll be leaving soon."

"Call me when you know you're out," Harry told her. "If I don't hear from you in half an hour I'm having Alicia teleport you out, whether you like the idea or not."

"As much as being taken _anywhere_ by her, I'll keep your Evac idea in mind," Lois agreed.

"Alright," Harry agreed. "I've spoken with Clark. Have you or Chloe heard from Lana?"

"Word has it that she hightailed it pretty soon after the announcement." She paused and he heard someone talking in the background. "Or not," Lois amended. "Chloe says that Lana's still packing."

Harry gritted his teeth. Why did no one seem in a hurry to leave? _Things_ were replaceable; _people_ were not! "Just let me know when everyone's out of town," Harry told her. "I've got to go." He paused. "Half an hour Lois," he reminded her, hanging up. He had a town to save.

**OoOoOoOoO**

_(00:04:52)_

As he should have expected, things were going wrong. With all the phone lines jammed he'd been unable receive calls or call Lois in order to find out where she was. As Horus, he'd flown over Smallville, searching for Lois' 4x4, or Chloe's red VW. With the chaos on the ground below him, he'd found nothing, even with his superior eyesight.

He hoped his failure to find his friends meant that they were already out of town, but he knew better than to just hope for the best. The roads were packed, barely moving and there had been several car crashes due to scared and impatient drivers. With only minutes to go until the sky rained fire, only a small portion of Smallville Residents would be outside the evac zone in time.

If he hadn't had sufficient motivation for stopping this disaster before, he certainly had it now.

_(00:03:26)_

Wearing a deep-hooded robe, Harry was almost ready for whatever was about to happen. Smallville had no buildings of any real height and his vantage point was poor at best, but positioned as closely to the evacuating people, a little outside of the town, he was confident his plan would work.

It wasn't much of a plan really, but he _knew _he had to succeed. He refused to allow the blood of these people to stain his hands.

_(00:03:02)_

The lead box containing the _Elder_ _Wand_ rested at his feet, open, waiting for him to take what Destiny had decreed to him. Kneeling down, his hand hovered over the _Wand_. Could he truly risk its power again?

With a swift movement he grabbed the wand by its grip and stood.

He grinned as power rushed through him.

_Yes, he could_.

Adjusting the _Resurrection Stone_ on his right hand, throwing the _Invisibility_ _Cloak _over his shouldersand adjusting his hold on the _Elder Wand_, he knew he was ready for anything; he couldn't fail.

_(00:01:35)_

Harry took a deep breath, exhaling slowly. The power felt good; felt right. He felt relaxed, he felt confident.

_(00:00:46)_

His eyes became black as he looked up at the sky. He could just make out the meteors as they burned up through the Earth's atmosphere, getting closer and closer to Smallville as each second passed. They would hit in just under a minute.

_(00:00:42)_

Harry pulled up his hood, hiding his face. With a fluid movement he was hidden from the world underneath his invisibility cloak.

_(00:00:30)_

Harry raised his wand to the Heavens. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, building up the magic inside of him to the highest levels that he could reach. Unknown to him, the air around him began to glow.

_(00:00:20)_

"**Munimentum Murus!"** Harry roared. A great dome shimmered to life above the town and evacuating townsfolk. The colour of the shield blended in with the colour of the sky, hiding it from view. The power of the spell caused an audible _humming _around Harry. He steadied himself for impact.

_(00:00:05)_

He grinned.

_(00:00:00)_

**OoOoOoOoO**

The force that struck his shield was awe-inspiring. His chest felt as though he'd been run through with a sword. His vision blackened for a moment and he buckled to one knee, struggling to keep his wand held upward. He forced out more magic, breathing heavily as he stood up. His shield absorbed the next several impacts, rippling outward from where it was struck. He could feel himself getting weaker by the moment. Blasts like thunder echoed throughout Smallville as each meteor impacted the shield. They shattered on collision, smaller pieces raining down the side of the great shield.

He gritted his teeth, refusing to give in so quickly. He pushed harder, slowly increasing the power of the shield to dangerous levels. His heart was racing in his chest and he was beginning to feel lightheaded. He could _feel_ the damage this was doing to his body. He didn't care.

A large shower of smaller meteors crashed into all parts of his shield, knocking him to the ground.

He kept up the shield but it wouldn't be long before it fell. It was too much. He wasn't strong enough.

He pushed himself to his feet one last time, struggling to stand.

"Argh!" Harry screamed, throwing everything he had; his life, his power, his soul into reinforcing the shield. Thunder _roared _overhead and the cloudless sky began to darken. Thick black clouds quickly blanketed Smallville.

Thunder _clapped_ and suddenly, the darkened Smallville lit up in a blinding flash. Lightning descended from the heavens, striking at the meteors moments before they hit his shield. As he continued to push, straining to maintain the level of power he was using, electrical energy used to power the town was diverted to him.

Foreign electricity flowed into him. Harry stood straighter, his breathing more controlled, his fatigue vanishing. The new build-up of power flowed through Harry, combining with his magic, strengthening the shield spell.

Harry _crackled_ with the power as the two incredible energies mixed. Electricity flowed around him, scorching the ground below. His right arm was now shaking violently; his body was giving up. He hoped he had enough strength to endure the rest of this. How much longer would it last?

**OoOoOoOoO**

Hidden between several meteorites, the Black Ship crashed through the shield protecting the town.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Harry's world went black and he collapsed to the ground, slipping from the protection of the _Invisibility Cloak_.

He vanished in a blur of red and yellow before he could hit the ground.

**OoOoOoOoO**

She could only remember feeling like this once in her life before now, and that was the day her parents had died; a day almost identical to this.

She'd stayed too long, too worried about _everything_ and she hadn't gotten out of the town in time. The traffic had built up, gridlocked due to the military only letting people travel in one direction, on the single road to Metropolis. In a hurry to leave there had been several accidents. That only served to slow the traffic further.

Then, the meteor's had fallen. The thunderous roar as they approached had haunted her since the day her parents died and the arrival of the sound had almost sent her into a panic attack. The meteor's headed towards the town, towards the people that were now trying to leave on foot, running between cars, trying to get as far away from the town as they could.

And then the meteor's just _stopped_.

A hundred feet above Smallville, the meteors, every single one just exploded. Not even the debris rained down on Smallville; it simple _slid_ through the air, falling to the ground away from people and buildings. It was as though a large invisible wall had been build over the town when no one was looking. Even for Smallville it was bizarre.

People stopped running, stopped trying to leave, and simply watched what was happening in shock and awe. Most people had never seen anything supernatural, anything _truly_ strange, since the first meteor shower. What was happening was simply unthinkable to them.

**OoOoOoOoO**

The invisible bubble seemed to falter, several meteors breaking through, crashing into the town and surrounding fields. This brought everyone out of their shock and the chaos and panic began again. People started running, pushing, _shoving_, to get away. Whatever was protecting them was failing and soon might fail completely. Running through the crowd was difficult, almost impossible with the amount of people there were. She felt something crash into the back of her, strong arms throwing her sideways. She slammed into the side of a truck, bouncing of its steel chassis and hitting the ground hard.

She cried out in pain as she tried to stand, her left ankle obviously sprained. Whimpering, she pushed herself to her feet, putting all her weight on her right leg. Fear and adrenaline pushed her forwards and she limped onwards, using the abandoned cars to keep her balance. It was slow, painful work. She did her best not to focus on the pain in her ankle or the sound of the meteors. She simply focused on moving forwards, on surviving.

A horrible thundering sound, worse than the meteors, roared overhead. The sky began to darkened, thick black clouds quickly spreading over the town. It almost appeared to be night. Blinding light flashed, followed by a second _roar_. Temporarily blinded, she lost her balance, collapsing to the hard road for a second time. She blinked rapidly, disoriented, trying to vanish the whiteness that blanketed her vision.

_Crackling _and _Crashing_ noises sounded from the sky, followed by bright flashes. Half-blind, she couldn't see what was happening. She pushed herself to her feet, determined to keep moving. Half limping, half hopping, she pushed onward.

She had only made it a dozen meters forward when the clouds vanished as quickly as they appeared, leaving no trace that they'd ever been there. _That_ was when the meteors finally broke through unimpeded. Her panic increased as she limped forward. A strange feeling bubbled up inside her. She ignored it and pushed on.

A deafening roar boomed overhead, getting louder, and _closer_, by the second. She looked up and her heart stopped at the sight of a meteor heading towards her. On reflex, she held up a hand to shield herself, fully expecting to die. She couldn't escape it. This was it; dead the way of her parents.

The feeling that had been bubbling up in her chest exploded outwards. Her right hand and eyes shone purple. A violet shield shimmered before her. The meteor crashed into it, shattering on impact. The force of it threw her to the ground, but beyond that she was fine. From her crumpled position on the floor she stared at her still glowing hand in shock. The light slowly faded.

The meteor shower was over.

**OoOoOoOoO**


	34. Foreshadow: Part One

**AN:**_ Yes, I'm back. Sort of. Not abandoning this story. If that ever happens, I'll tell you. Promise._

_Sorry for the really short chapter, but I really want to post something and get another chapter out. Hopefully it's not disappointing and this chapter is helping to set up a few important things to come._

_So, review or PM me, let me know what you thought. By the way, the mass of PM's that I received over the last few months really helped me get this up._

_Just sayin'._

**OoOoOoOoO**

**Chapter 34 – Foreshadow: Part One**

_(Friday 3rd, June, 2005)_

He regained consciousness to a feeling that he hadn't experienced in years, one he thought he was completely incapable of ever feeling again; waking peacefully from a deep sleep. He lay still, his eyes closed, relishing in the feeling, not yet trying to decide _why_ he'd been asleep in the first place when it was something that he consciously avoided at all times. He inhaled deeply, enjoying the high he was on and the strong smell of freshly cut grass.

_Freshly cut grass? What?_

He quickly opened his eyes and found himself staring into a clear blue sky. He blinked in confusion. What was he doing outside? Why had he fallen _asleep _in the first place? Sitting up in one fluid motion he looked around. He was sitting in the centre of Miller's field without any sign as to _why_. Closing his eyes tightly, he allowed for his memories to catch up with his mind.

His eyes snapped open; the meteor shower. He'd been trying to save Smallville from the meteor shower and he must have exhausted himself and passed out.

_The Town!_

Snapping to his feet he whirled around to where he knew he could see Smallville. It looked... perfect. He could see no sign of smoke and could hear no screams and no sirens. Did that mean he'd succeeded? Had he protected the town? His blood ran cold; or had he been unconscious for so long that the immediate emergency had passed?

His blood chilled as he recalled that he had no idea whether his friends, any of them, had made it out of town safely. As quick as a flash he pulled out his cell phone, only to stare at the partial melted plastic with a feeling of betrayal. It was completely fried. Apparently the Magitek protection spell that kept the phone maintained didn't quite hold up to his elemental power. He would have to check on his friends later, but for now, his focus had to be on the immediate; Smallville.

With a _crack _he Disapparated, not noticing the crackle of electricity he left in his wake, reappearing just behind the Talon. Rushing forward he found himself on Main Street. A grin slowly grew across his face. The street was perfectly fine; there was no damage, no emergency vehicles... nothing. "Ha!" Harry laughed. If this street hadn't been hit and he could see _no _damage then he'd succeeded. He'd saved Smallville from being destroyed.

His smile faded slightly. He could remember the meteor's falling, and even though that memory was slightly blurry, slightly distorted, he _knew_ that some meteors had broken through his blanket shield when it had wavered. He might have saved the town as a whole, but what other damage was there? How many people had died?

Making sure that he was out of sight of any security camera's he transformed into _Horus _and took to the sky, beating his wings as hard as he could. He was so focused on searching the town, he failed to notice that his feathers were coloured differently. He soared upwards and it wasn't long before he had a true birds-eye view of the town. He wasn't sure what to think.

For the most part, Smallville stood unharmed. The town itself had only taken a handful of direct strikes. A few roads were ruined and Harry was saddened to see that a several houses had been destroyed by direct strikes, including the house of a somewhat-friend of his from school. He really hoped no one had been in those areas. His flight continued over the area in which he'd stood as he defended his town. He flew low, getting a good look at the area.

The exact spot where he'd stood was a disaster area. It appeared as though fire had consumed a large area directly around where he'd been. There were zig-zag like burn marks shooting out from the area that had to have been caused when he'd absorbed the electricity from Smallville. It was unlikely that any grass would ever grow in that spot again.

He was somewhat worried to see two news vans parked just beside the area, with a reporter who he could clearly see was speaking into a camera. Had he been seen? Where they aware that whoever was protecting the town had stood there? Forcibly pulling his attention away from that, he once again focused on the meteor damage.

A long line of cars blocked the Smallville to Metropolis road. Several cars had been destroyed and several of them were still burning. A strange sight caught his attention and he flew down lower to investigate. He could see the shattered remains of a meteor spread around the area, easily identifiable by the green meteor rock imbedded in larger chunks of the rock, yet no damage had been done to the road. Cars around the area were damaged by meteor shrapnel, yet the car in the centre of the impact was fine. Had a GME or a meta-human been there? Mentally filing the question away, he soared upward again.

Flying over Smallville he could see that a lot of the fields surrounding the town had been destroyed. Some of the damage was due to direct hits from the meteors, but the majority of it came from the falling meteors that had hit his shield. Some of the fields were _ruined_, possibly beyond repair. He would help these people rebuild their lives.

His flyover of the town was almost complete. Despite the loss of several homes and properties, the fact that he had succeeded in what he'd set out to do was finally beginning to sink in. It was an exhilarating feeling, something he hadn't really felt after defeating Voldemort. _That_ defeat had too much baggage for him to have felt success. This felt different. This hadn't been destined, nothing had forced him to do this and he'd done it by himself. He pushed aside the fact that _he _had caused this in the first place and that he hadn't succeeded fully in doing what he'd planned. He just allowed himself a moment to feel... sated at his achievement.

The feeling quickly died as he neared his house.

The Kent house, a beautiful home, the home of his friend, was destroyed, a gaping hole in the roof. Tucking his wings and feet in, he stooped, descending quickly. Transforming only seconds hitting the ground, he used magic to stabilise his landing, once again, not noticing the after affect. The destruction of the house looked so much worse from the ground. His skin ran cold as he saw the overturned red pick-up the Kent's drove. They hadn't left. Where Mr. and Mrs. Kent still in the house?

His heart racing, he casted _Homenum Revelio _on the house showed that no one was inside; alive or dead. He sighed in tremendous relief. Changing back into _Horus_ he took to the sky again. As his eyes focused on _his _house, he almost fell from the sky. He hadn't noticed it before and was rather confused as to how he'd missed it.

In simple turns, his house was just _gone_.

From the angle he was facing, he couldn't quite be sure what had happened to his home, other than it had been utterly destroyed. Too much damage had been done to the surrounding area for the damage to have been solely from a meteor; something had exploded.

It was possible that a meteor had destroyed the house and ruptured a gas line, but knowing his life, it _had_ to be more complicated than that. Slowly flying downward, closely observing the destruction, _Horus_ landed a couple of feet from where his front door would have been. He transformed back and just stared at the wreckage.

He wasn't quite sure what to think. Resting both hands on his head, he just stared.

He'd only lived in that house for less than a year, but it had been _his_ house. Sure, he had another place in Metropolis, but that wasn't the same; he hadn't shared _that_ place with Lois. He shook his head; his house was gone, so what? He'd lost worst.

_Get over it and move onto the next problem_

He needed to find his friends and to do that he needed to be where he'd claimed he was; Metropolis.

He was about to Apparate when he felt a rush of air a few feet behind him. He turned, fully expecting to find Clark. He was wrong.

"Bart?" Harry asked in surprise, only barely remembering the younger guy's name. It had been last year he'd seen the meta-human; a man who could run faster than Clark. He'd visited Smallville for a little while after robbing Mr. Kent while simultaneously saving the man's life and then he'd vanished. Harry had offered him a standing invitation to crash at his place if it was needed, but he hadn't heard from the guy again. He was one of the few things he'd actually kept secret from _Prometheus_.

"What are you doing here?" Harry asked.

"Dude, you're awake!" Bart unhelpfully told him, smiling brightly.

Harry blinked. "What?"

"Man, that was _awesome_." He shook his head. "When you said you had a few powers, dude, way to underestimate."

Harry blinked again. "What?"

Bart looked concerned. "Are you alright?"

"I..." Harry started, quickly trailing off. "Bart, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Bart grinned and gave him a patronizing look. "I'm the fastest man alive; you gotta do better if you want to get one past me."

Harry winced; Bart knew what he'd done. He sighed. "Why are you here?" he asked again, seeing no point in denying anything.

"Where else would I be, man?" Bart asked as though it was obvious. "I was in this _sick_ bar in Mexico, right, and we're all watching the news on this place and suddenly, _bang_, thunder and lightning. It _had_ to be you. So this camera crew catches a glimpse of something else, right? And they pan across right at the second you stop being invisible. So…"

"Wait," Harry interrupted urgently. "I was _seen_? On _live _TV?"

Bart grinned slightly. "Nah, man. You were wearing that weird robe thing. I figured it would be better if they didn't see anymore. I got you outta there before you even hit the ground."

Harry blinked. "You made it from Mexico to Smallville _that_ quickly," he stated in surprise.

Bart's grin widened, becoming cocky. "Woulda been faster, but I had to finish my beer, you know?"

Harry couldn't help but laugh, even as he sighed in relief. It was probably more laughter than the joke warranted, but it was good to just hear some good news. He ignored the fact that he had been seen, even if he had been disguised, around the world. He couldn't ignore the fact that he'd seen nothing of his friends.

"Have you seen Clark?" Harry asked; the town was littered with new meteor rock, making the town and literal death trap for Clark, but that didn't appear to be the type of thing that would stop him. "Or Lois, Lana and Chloe?"

Bart shrugged. "Was looking around when you were taking your nap. Checked out the whole town and I didn't seen anyone who was so much as hurt. I'm sure their just chilling in Metropolis." He seemed sure of his answer. Harry had to double check though.

"You're sure you've searched everywhere? You couldn't have missed them?"

Bart actually looked insulted. "Dude, your town's not _that_ big; trust me, if they were here, I woulda seen them."

Harry felt slightly giddy and let out a shaky sigh of relief. It wasn't a certain thing, it wouldn't be until he saw them again, but his friends were probably alright. He wavered slightly, swaying a little as his adrenalin levels plummeted. "Thank Merlin," Harry muttered. He looked over to the younger man. "Bart, thank you; for getting me safe when I passed out and for looking for my friends."

Bart shrugged again. "Hey, was just paying the Farm Boy back for last time, no big."

Harry felt slightly stronger again. "It was a big deal Bart," Harry told him seriously. He changed the subject quickly, leaving Bart no time to argue. "I was wondering though, when you got me safe, why leave me in a field?" The question hadn't occurred to him until a second ago and he still wanted to know why regaining consciousness had felt like simply waking up.

Bart raised an eyebrow and looked at him oddly. "Dude, what are you talking about? I left you in Clark's barn."

Harry blinked. If he was reading Bart's face correctly, he _had_ left him there. "I woke up in a field," Harry told him.

Bart looked at him dubiously. "You sleep-teleport?" he asked.

And that was enough of an answer for Harry. His almost phobic desire not to sleep had more to do with things than just the nightmares he had each night, although that was a large part of it. When he had become powerful, _really _powerful, he'd taken to using magic in his sleep, the spells reflecting on what he was seeing. The first nightmare he'd had after becoming seventeen he had used so much magic he'd severely injured eight people, almost killing each of them.

Apparition while sleeping was not a new thing to him.

"Sometimes," Harry admitted, running his right hand through his hair, planning his next move. His hand froze halfway across his head. Slowly, he pulled his hand back, resting it on the right side of his forehead; right over where his scar was.

Where his scar had _been_.

He rubbed his forehead, his completely smooth forehead, before lowering his hand past his right eye, feeling the completely smooth skin as well. Startled, he pulled up his t-shirt, searching his chest for any of the number of scars that marked him.

He was completely clear of them.

With a click of his fingers and a crackle of electricity, a mirror was conjured in front of him and his t-shirt vanished. He ignored the look on Bart's face as he stared at his reflection in awe.

Gone were the myriad of scars across his chest and back, leaving it smooth and clear. Gone was the vertical scar that cut his face from the spell that had almost destroyed his right eye.

And gone was the lightning bolt scar that he'd had for most of his life. So engrossed in the fact that his scar was gone, he almost missed the fact that his grey-streaked black hair was now jet black once again. With a shaky hand he reached up to that patch where the lightning bolt scar had been and rubbed the smooth area. It was gone, completely gone, as though it had never been there. It was… almost unthinkable.

Gone was one of his most defining features, the remnant of that awful night at Godric's Hollow that had taken his parents from him. It was… it was… it was not the time to deal with this. He ran a hand through his hair trying to gather his thoughts. The light of the setting sun glanced of the ring on his right hand, drawing Harry's attention to it.

"The Hallows," Harry muttered a quick feeling of panic rushing up in his chest. He turned quickly to Bart, "When you found me, did you see my Invis… a silver cloak and a… a polished stick nearby?" he asked, wincing slightly at how inane that sounded.

"Your invisible cloak and the stick you had on you?" Bart asked. "I put them up in the barn." He grinned slightly. "You wouldn't happen to have another one of those cloaks would you? I can think of a lot of things I could do with one of them." Harry didn't need legilimancy to see the perverted thoughts of a teenage boy flash across Bart's mind.

Harry wasn't paying much attention though; the thought of the Elder Wand nearby send shivers down his spine and he could feel his right hand clench in anticipation of holding the wand again. Electricity raced visibly across his body. He thrust his right hand out, calling on his magic and summoned the legendary items. A quiet _crack_ and a moment later the wand and the cloak soared out of the Kent barn. With the grace of a Seeker, Harry snatched the _Wand_ from the air, twirling it around through his fingers to bleed off its momentum. The _Cloak_ was caught by his left hand.

He let out a giddy breath as the wands power raced through his body again. It didn't matter that he'd only held the wand a few hours ago; it felt just as good. And then suddenly, it didn't. Lightning raced across his body, starting at his chest. It ran down his right arm, down the Elder Wand and across the Resurrection Stone. It ran down his left arm and through the Invisibility Cloak. It ran down his legs and into the ground. Thunder _roared_ overhead and only Bart had time to move before Harry was struck by lightning.

The whole process barely lasted a second, leaving a stunned, shaking Harry, arm still outstretched from where he'd caught the Wand.

And just like that, it was over, leaving Harry feeling like he had in the seconds _before _he'd grasped the Elder Wand again.

He could only blink in surprise.

"Dude," Bart said slowly, walking towards Harry with a slight hesitation in his gait. "What the Hell was that?"

"I… don't know," Harry admitted. He didn't know what was going on, but that didn't mean he didn't know what had changed. The Elder Wand, something that had messed with his head each time he'd used it, felt different than it ever had. He could still feel that the wand was extremely powerful, able to accomplish feats that the _Rules of Magic _claimed impossible, but now, he wasn't feeling the rush he'd quickly come to associate with the wand; the urge to do things he'd hesitate to do when in his right mind. Now, the Elder Wand _only _felt extremely powerful.

'_What in the name of all things Magic just happened?' _Harry thought as he looked at the Wand. _'Maybe this was what was supposed to happen first time I held it? Maybe I can use it without the side effects?' _He felt his head begin to ache

He didn't know what to really think; didn't really know what to do. All he knew just now was that he was being hit from so many directions by so many things that he was beginning to struggle handling it. He needed to clear his head and rest, even though he knew he couldn't just now. First, he needed to find his friends.

He turned to Bart. "I need to get out of here." He paused. "Look, get a hotel or something in Metropolis. I've got a lot of things I'm going to need to do in the next few days, but once things quiet down slightly I'll find you, alright? I owe you a lot for today." He also had a feeling that Bart wasn't going to disappear and he _definitely_ needed him to sign at least one secrecy contract. Now, he had to get back to Metropolis, find his friends and get ready to deal with the fact that due to his actions in Smallville, the world had just changed.

"Yeah… sure, man," Bart told him, still looking at him oddly after whatever had happened a moment ago.

"Thank," Harry told him, vanishing in a crackle of electricity. Bart disappeared a moment later in a blur of red and yellow.

**OoOoOoOoO**

Had either of the super-powered teens stayed behind a moment longer they would have seen or felt the powerful swirl of magic as a figure appeared where Harry had stood, and then, they could have stopped what, and who, was to come.

Perhaps.

**OoOoOoOoO**

**AN:** _I know I'm usually pretty rubbish at it, but with this chapter, I'll try and reply to every review left for it. I always mean to, but it just never happens. Until next time._

_Oh, and I've been on DCU: Online for the last few weeks. You can find me on the EU Server __**LFT **__under a Hero named AngelofRa. Give me a shout if you're there._


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